661.9431/32: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 13—3:10 a.m.]
812. The following “joint” communiqué of the Japanese and Soviet Governments concerning the Japanese-Soviet commercial negotiations was issued by the Cabinet Bureau of Information at 1 p.m. today and is published in the afternoon papers:92
“Negotiations which have been under way between the Japanese Ambassador Tatekawa and Soviet Trade Commissar Mikoyan in Moscow since February 8 on a Japanese-Soviet commercial pact and a pact concerning their trade and payment have made favorable headway, as a result of a mutual spirit of compromise, and the Japanese Government has gone through necessary procedures for the drafting of the two pacts.”
According to the announcement of the Cabinet Board of Information, two pacts will be concluded; (1) a Japanese-Soviet commercial agreement valid for 5 years and automatically renewed unless denounced [Page 975] by either party which will extend reciprocal most-favored-nation treatment in regard export and import duties, restrictions on exports and imports, ships and cargoes, customs procedure, tonnage dues, harbor dues, pilot fees, and other matters; (2) an agreement concerning trade and payments valid for 1 year and in the absence of cancellation by either party automatically renewable for a similar period. The latter agreement provides for a total annual trade turn-[over?] of 60 million yen between the two countries, with Japanese exports to the value of 30 million yen of raw silk, cocoons, machines, instruments, camphor oil, general merchandise, and imports of equal value from the Soviet Union of petroleum products, manganese ore, platinum, fertilizer and general merchandise with payments to be effected on the basis of the yen.
Sent to the Department via Shanghai, repeated to Moscow.
- The Ambassador in the Soviet Union in telegram No. 1136, June 12, 4 p.m., reported a similar announcement in Moscow (761.94/1328).↩