Office of the Historian

892.51/238: Telegram

The Minister in Thailand (Peck) to the Secretary of State

Bangkok, December 4, 1941—2 p.m.
[Received December 4—10:12 a.m.]

549. Following is the full text of an aide-mémoire dated December 3, 1941 from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the American Legation at Bangkok:

“Aide-Mémoire

1.
His Majesty’s Government, ever desirous of maintaining and promoting the friendship and commercial relations with the United States of America, have the honor to lay before the United States Government the pressing need of Thailand for United States dollars.
2.
In order to facilitate or even enable the trade relations of this country with the United States of America to be carried on during these times of the dislocation of normal trade conditions, His Majesty’s Government venture to approach the United States Government with a view to grant by them to his Majesty’s Government of United States dollar credits upon conditions, for which the basis of negotiations is submitted in the memorandum attached hereto.
3.
His Majesty’s Government will warmly appreciate the sympathetic consideration by the United States Government of this matter; and as it is a matter of urgency, His Majesty’s Government will be grateful for any steps which might be taken in order to expedite the consideration thereof.”

“Memorandum

1.
The Thai Government is unable any longer to maintain its orders from the United States of America owing to the complete drying up of normal sources of supply of United States gold.
2.
The Thai Government is completely solvent, as is clearly set out for the benefit of all foreign observers in the lately issued report of the Financial Adviser.
3.
The Thai Government requests the United States Government to place at its disposal through the Export and Import Bank the sum of $8,000,000, half to cover such Thai Government imports from the United States of America and half to cover Thai commercial market imports from the United States of America as may be permitted by license.
4.
The Thai Government requests the United States Government to agree in principle to the repayment of this sum at the end of war, when it reenters into the free use of all its foreign assets, the larger [Page 370] part of which, being in sterling, can for the present only be used in the sterling area.
5.
In the meanwhile, the Thai Government is prepared to earmark as cover for this accommodation baht 22,000,000 (pound sterling 2,000,000) worth of its gold deposits in Bangkok in favor of the United States of America.

The Thai Government, however, reserves to itself the right of repaying, in whole or in part at any earlier moment than that envisaged in Article 4, should it find itself in funds that permit such anticipated repayment.[”]

Peck