[Enclosure]
The American Diplomatic Agent and Consul
General at Tangier (White) to the French Resident General in Morocco (Noguès)
Tangier, August 12,
1940.
Mr. Resident General: I have the honor
to inform Your Excellency that, according to reports received by
the Department of State from the American Consul General at
Casablanca, quotas and other restrictive measures have been
imposed upon the importation of automotive vehicles, spare parts
and general automotive equipment, through the action of
administrative departments of the Protectorate, unsupported by
any specific legislative authority.
As instances of such administrative action reference is made to a
reported convention between the Department of Public Works, the
Foreign Exchange Control Office, and the principal local
distributors of American truck chassis for the limitation of
imports of chassis to a quota of 988 units over a period of
twelve months from September 1939 to September 1940, and also to
the rules laid down by the Director General of Public Works, at
his conference, on February 5, 1940, with representatives of the
“Groupement des Importateurs du Commerce de l’Automobile,” rules
which required importers, whenever possible, to limit the
placement of their orders to France and Great Britain, purchases
to be allowed exceptionally in other countries, listed in their
[Page 783]
order of
preference, the United States coming last. It may be
incidentally remarked that one of the avowed purposes of the
rules was to replace the importation of products of the United
States by that of similar products which might be obtained from
other sources.
The fact is of course not overlooked that these administrative
measures are intended solely to meet war time difficulties. I
would recall however that the position of my Government in
regard to legislation enacted in French Morocco in a similar
intention, was stated in a Note dated January 9, 1940, addressed
to Your Excellency by my predecessor, Mr. Maxwell Blake.15
I am further instructed by my Government to address to Your
Excellency a protest against the administrative quotas and
restrictions above referred to, and at the same time, to reserve
all American treaty rights as affected by this administraive
action as well as by any action of the French Protectorate
Authorities incident to the present exceptional circumstances in
French Morocco.
Please accept [etc.]
