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  4. Document 1260

833.51/957c

The Under Secretary of State (Welles) to the Uruguayan Minister (Richling)

Washington, December 9, 1940.

My Dear Mr. Minister: During the recent visit to Uruguay of Mr. Warren Lee Pierson, president of the Export-Import Bank, he was informed by the Minister of Finance that the Uruguayan Government desired to obtain a loan of $5,000,000 in order to purchase material for national defense. I understand that you also consulted the officials of the Export-Import Bank with regard to this matter.

This Government will be glad to discuss with the Uruguayan Government the question of credits for defense material. In this connection the military authorities are now formulating a policy to govern [Page 1172] the procurement of military supplies in the United States by the other American republics and to deal with each request that will be received. It is planned to draw up in each instance a program showing details of estimated delivery schedules and costs in order to permit suitable financial arrangements to be made for each country. The prior preparation of such programs appears to be essential to a proper determination of the amounts to be loaned and the periods of time which such credits should cover.

In this connection I wish to call your attention to requests for material already submitted by your Government, the cost of which would exceed the suggested loan of $5,000,000. Therefore, it would seem to be in the interests of the Governments of Uruguay and the United States that the determination of the amount of credit should await the completion of the above-mentioned program for Uruguay.

At the request of the War Department I enclose for the information of your Government a unit price list30 prepared by that Department of the material comprised in the list submitted by your Government in September to the Minister of the United States at Montevideo. I should appreciate, however, if you would be good enough to make it clear to your Government that the transmission of this price list should not be construed as meaning that the materials indicated therein are immediately available for sale at that price.

Believe me,

Sincerely yours,

Sumner Welles
  1. Not attached to file copy of this letter.↩