811.20 (D) Regulations/3696
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Alger Hiss, Assistant to the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck)55
| Participants: | Mr. N. Hall, British Minister |
| Mr. G. F. Thorold, First Secretary (British Embassy) | |
| Mr. Dean Acheson, Assistant Secretary of State | |
| Mr. Herbert Feis56 | |
| Mr. Thomas K. Finletter56a | |
| Mr. Willys R. Peck | |
| Mr. Alger Hiss |
Mr. Peck read a memorandum of proposed action by the Department in connection with the subject under reference (see attached copy of Mr. Peck’s memorandum of June 2357).
It was generally agreed that it would be wise for the action suggested in Mr. Peck’s memorandum to be taken (in addition to rubber, which the original draft of the memorandum referred to, it was decided that it would be wise for this Government to express its interest in acquiring Thai tin also).
Mr. Hall said that he had just received by telephone the substance of a telegram from the British Minister at Bangkok. Mr. Hall said that he understood that no definite commitments had been entered into by Thailand but that the British Minister desired support in his representations as soon as possible. Mr. Hall inquired in this connection whether the British Embassy might not promptly notify the British Minister in Bangkok as soon as we had spoken to the Thai Minister. This was agreed to and it was understood that Mr. Hall would inform the British Minister that the Department had notified the Thai Minister in Washington that the United States was anxious to acquire all the Thai rubber and tin that might be available; that the Department would give sympathetic consideration to Thai requests for export licenses as soon as the Thai Minister supplied a list of the desired items; and that the United States would in general regard sympathetically the Thai program for internal reconstruction.
It was pointed out to Mr. Hall and Mr. Thorold that the Department had as yet not consulted with the Treasury or other fiscal authorities of this Government on the question of possible credits to Thailand and it was further pointed out that it was unlikely that the American fiscal agencies would be interested in supplying ordinary [Page 186] commercial credits to Thailand. It was also pointed out that in all likelihood the quantity of exports to Thailand which it would be possible to permit would be limited, in view of our defense program. It was felt, however, that even relatively small quantities of certain types of products that were not in themselves immediately essential to our defense efforts would be of considerable significance to Thailand.