Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The British Commonwealth, The Soviet Union, The Near East and Africa, Volume III

611.6731/691

The Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State

No. 1588

Ankara, November 7, 1940.
[Received December 11.]

Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s telegraphic instruction No. 19 of March 14, 3 p.m., requesting the information necessary for giving effect to the exchange provisions of the American-Turkish Trade Agreement in 1939, and to report that despite repeated requests, both written and oral, the desired information has not as yet been furnished by the Foreign Office.

The Embassy has reason to believe that in the case of the information concerning the amount of exchange allocated for the payment of commercial imports of American origin effected in 1939, the failure to furnish the data requested is due to the fact that, as pointed out in my despatch No. 1443 of May 6, 1940,⁴⁶ the relevant records of the Turkish Government have not been kept in such a way as to permit the compilation of this data. With regard to the information relative to the amount to be deducted from the total value of Turkey’s commercial imports in accordance with Paragraph 1 of the Supplementary Note to the Trade Agreement, it is believed that the authorities simply do not desire to take the time and trouble to compile this information since they do not contemplate making any use of it. However, the Embassy will continue to press the Foreign Office with a view to expediting the procurement of the desired information.

Pending the receipt of official information from the Turkish Government, it is thought that the Department would desire to have at its disposal the most reliable data now available relative to the points in which the Department is interested:

(a) The total value of the commercial imports from all countries into Turkey in 1939:

According to the official publication of the Central Statistical Office, Turkey’s total commercial imports in 1939 amounted to Ltqs. 118,248,934;

(b) Amount to be deducted from Turkey’s total commercial imports as provided in Paragraph 1 of the Supplementary Note to the Trade Agreement:

There is no data available upon which to base an estimate of this amount;

(c) The total value of the commercial imports of American origin into Turkey in 1939:

According to the official publication of the Central Statistical Office, Turkey’s commercial imports from the United States in 1939 amounted to Ltqs. 11,686,099, representing 9.89% of Turkey’s total commercial imports;

(d) Exchange allotments actually made for commercial imports of American origin effected in 1939:

The Embassy estimates that up to November 7, 1940, the Turkish authorities had allocated approximately $9,174,624 for the payment of imports from the United States effected in 1939. This figure is an approximate one because it includes (due to delay in filing applications for exchange permits) some exchange granted for the payment of imports actually effected prior to January 1, 1939. This estimate is based on the following figures:

Exchange allocated from the resumption of exchange payments in July, 1939, up to May 31, 1940	$5,987,135*
(From this figure should be deducted the estimated arrears for 1938 imports existing at the time of resumption of exchange payments)	$420,000
	$5,567,135
Exchange permits issued May 31, 1940, to June 13, 1940	$1,028,000
Exchange permits issued July 10, 1940, to November 7, 1940	$1,760,489
Payments to oil companies under Special Permits January 1, 1939, to June 20, 1939†	$819,000
	9,174,624

The Embassy estimates that the amount of unpaid arrears for American goods imported in 1939 amounted to approximately $300,000 on November 7, 1940.^‡

Respectfully yours,

J. V. A. MacMurray

46. Not printed.
47. This figure was furnished by the Foreign Office in its note of July 4, 1940. It differs but slightly from the Embassy’s estimates for the period in question. [Footnote in the original.]
48. The total amount received by oil companies was $1,300,000. Of the amount received by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company ($1,004,000), $619,000 covered payments for petroleum products imported in 1939 and $385,000 products imported in 1938. It is estimated that of the amount—$300,000—received by the other oil companies, $200,000 represented payments for 1939 imports. [Footnote in the original.]
49. Exchange Director at Istanbul stated on November 7, 1940, that he expected to liquidate “within a few days” the remaining arrears for 1939 imports. [Footnote in the original.]