811.20 Defense (M) Argentina/19

The Ambassador in Argentina (Armour) to the Secretary of State

No. 3131

Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Embassy’s telegram No. 941 of September 10, 1941, 9:00 a.m.93 and transmit herewith copies of memorandum concerning the purchase program which was submitted to the Foreign Office on September 8 and also a copy of the memorandum which was submitted by the British Ambassador to the Foreign Office on September 3. It will be noted in the Embassy’s memorandum that reference was made to the aide-mémoire transmitted to the Foreign Office on July 2, 1941, relating to the same subject, to which was attached a list of products which may be included [Page 373] in the proposed purchase program as contained in the Department’s telegram No. 378 of June 23, 1941, 11:00 p.m.94 The Embassy has not yet received any reply from the Foreign Office as regards the purchase program since transmitting the memorandum of September 8, nor has there been any reaction in authoritative circles that would indicate that the program is having serious consideration, other than Executive Decree No. 97,752, which was issued on August 21, 1941,95 restricting the exports of certain minerals. In this connection, the Embassy has been somewhat chagrined to learn that since this decree became effective, including restrictions on the exportation of wolfram ore, it has been admitted that licenses have been granted for the shipment of more than 50 tons of wolfram ore to Japan.

Respectfully yours,

For the Ambassador:
Thomas L. Hughes

Commercial Attaché
[Enclosure 1]

The British Embassy in Argentina to the Argentine Foreign Office

Memorandum

1.
With the hope of arriving at a favorable solution of the problems affecting international trade between Argentina, the United States and Great Britain, the U.S.G. and H.M.G. have together reviewed the two lists of purchases of Argentine products which the British Empire and the U.S. propose to make, or to guarantee, during the succeeding 12 months period.
2.
These two lists are largely complementary and in total cover a wide range of Argentine products; they will guarantee to the Argentine the disposal of all, or at least the greater portion, of the exportable surplus of most of her principal products. Thus, while the offer already put forward by the U.S.G. will provide a guarantee of the disposal in the U.S. (in so far as the products in question are not bought by the British Empire or by Latin American countries) of quantities representing approximately the normal exportable surplus of wool, hides, minerals, quebracho and glycerine, H.M.G. are prepared to purchase, subject to agreement on prices and to the exigencies of shipping, by far the greater proportion of the production of meat and animal fats, together with substantial quantities of wheat, flake eggs, fertilizers, casein, etc. These British purchases, [Page 374] together with British Empire purchases of hides and quebracho, may be anticipated to involve a total sum of approximately 42 to 44 million pounds sterling.
3.
In view of the wide range of this joint purchasing program, which will go far to minimize the inevitable dislocation of Argentine trade consequent on the war, H.M.G. takes this opportunity of expressing the anxiety, which they share with the U.S.G., to secure the conservation of the products in question and they therefore wish to lend their fullest support to the proposals already put forward by the U.S.G. that the export of these products from Argentina should be so controlled as to ensure that they shall not be directed to destinations outside the United States, the British Empire and other American Republics having a similar system of export control.
[Enclosure 2]

The American Embassy in Argentina to the Argentine Foreign Office

Memorandum

With a view to offering a favorable solution of the problems affecting the foreign trade of Argentina as a result of the dislocation of markets caused by the exigencies of the international situation, the Embassy of the United States of America has the honor to submit a proposal for the purchase, or a guarantee of purchase, of certain Argentine products by the Government of the United States of America for a period of one year. The situation has been similarly reviewed by the British Government who also propose to submit to the Argentine Government a program of purchases covering a complementary list of products. These proposals of the two governments cover such a wide range of Argentine products that it is believed that if an agreement may be reached between the respective governments concerned, there is offered to Argentina a guarantee for the disposal of the greater portion of the exportable surplus of most of its principal products.

On July 2, 1941 an aide-mémoire was transmitted to the Foreign Office, stating that the Government of the United States, through the Federal Loan Agency, was prepared to acquire specified Argentine products under certain conditions, of which the most important is that the Argentine Government would restrict the exportation of such products to the British Commonwealth of Nations, the United States and other American republics having a similar system of export control.

By Executive Decree No. 97,752 of August 21, 1941 the Argentine Government specifically imposed restrictions on the export of certain [Page 375] of the products set forth in the Embassy’s Aide-Mémoire of July 2, 1941. It is hoped that conversations may be undertaken at an early date which may lead to the conclusion of an agreement between the governments concerned, putting into effect the complete program envisaged.

[Enclosure 3]

The American Embassy in Argentina to the Argentine Foreign Office

Products Which May Be Purchased by the United States

Glycerin:

The United States Government, through the Federal Loan Agency, is interested in the purchase of the entire exportable surplus of Argentine glycerin for a period of one year at a price to be mutually agreed upon.

Minerals:

Beryl ore, mica, vanadium, antimony, manganese, fluorspar, and tin: The United States Government, through the Federal Loan Agency, is interested in effecting an arrangement for the purchase of all of these products in the same form of agreement as that proposed for glycerin.

Beryllium oxide:

The United States Government, through the Federal Loan Agency, is prepared to enter into negotiations for the purchase of the entire output of beryllium oxide in Argentina for a period of two years with the top limit of about 100 tons a year.

Hides and Skins:

The Agency is willing to undertake negotiations for the purchase of the entire exportable surplus of Argentine hides and skins of the higher qualities which shall not be acquired by private U. S. importers for the period of one year with the top limit of the Agency’s obligations with respect to these products to be stated in the proposed agreement. It is understood that the average annual exportable surplus of hides and skins of Argentina for the years 1934–38 was 7,600,000 hides, or approximately 159,000 metric tons.

[Page 376]

Wool:

The Agency has manifested an interest in the purchase of the entire exportable surplus of Argentine wool of suitable grades which shall not be acquired by private U. S. importers during 1941–42 season.

Quebracho:

The Agency proposes to enter into negotiations for the purchase of a quantity of quebracho extract approximating 15,000 tons above the 1941 purchases which are estimated to be about 94,000 tons.

Certain departments of the U. S. Government are making studies with regard to making purchases in Argentina of castor seed, borax, casein, and tallow, but at present no definite negotiations can be undertaken regarding these products.

The purchase by the U. S. Government of any or all of the products mentioned in the foregoing will be contingent upon restrictions to be imposed on the export of these products by the Argentine Government to any and all countries with the exception of the United States, Great Britain, and other Latin American Republics having parallel systems of export control.

  1. Not printed.
  2. Not printed, but see footnote 86, p. 370.
  3. A Spanish text appears in Anales de Legislación Argentina, 1941, p. 318.