740.00111A.R./1010
The Secretary of State to the German Chargé (Thomsen)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Germany and acknowledges the receipt of [Page 300] a communication dated April 18, 1940 from the German Embassy to the effect that it has come to the knowledge of the German Government that a proposal has been submitted to the Inter-American Neutrality Committee at Rio de Janeiro that concerns the treatment of the merchant ships of belligerent powers in certain American ports.
In this connection the Secretary of State desires to point out to the German Chargé d’Affaires ad interim that the Inter-American Neutrality Committee is a body composed of seven experts in international law designated by the Governing Board of the Pan American Union and that the Committee was established for the duration of the European war with a view to studying and formulating recommendations with respect to the problems of neutrality, in the light of experience and changing circumstances. The Inter-American Neutrality Committee’s recommendations are transmitted by the Governing Board of the Pan American Union to the Governments of the American republics.
The Secretary of State notes that should a recommendation be made by the Inter-American Neutrality Committee along the lines described in the German Chargé d’Affaires communication and should that recommendation be adopted by the Government of the United States, the German Chargé d’Affaires reserves his right to submit a decided protest.