837.61351/2788

The Ambassador in Cuba ( Messersmith ) to the Secretary of State

No. 3348

Sir: I have the honor to enclose texts and translations of the exchange of notes referring to the sale of the 1942 Cuban sugar crop, as agreed upon at a meeting with Sr. López Castro, Senator Casanova and Dr. Mañas last evening, and as confirmed thereafter by telephone by Mr. Walmsley.

The Cuban Government decree authorizing the Institute to sell the crop on the terms agreed upon was signed by President Batista last night and a copy will be transmitted as soon as it is promulgated in the Official Gazette.78

Final agreement on the contract itself was also reached early this morning and it is hoped to sign the contract and the exchange of notes during this afternoon.79

[Page 250]

With respect to the exchange of notes the Embassy’s task was facilitated by an assurance received by telephone from Dr. Joshua Bernhardt of the Department of Agriculture last evening that a footnote would be inserted at the appropriate point in the Department of Agriculture’s sugar statistics to the effect that Cuba had, at the request of and in cooperation with the Government of the United States, produced . . . . . gallons of invert in lieu of raw sugar which, by sugar content, would have been the equivalent of . . . . . tons of sugar. Mr. Mersereau who obtained the foregoing assurance from Dr. Bernhardt, is confirming it by a letter to the Institute on behalf of Defense Supplies Corporation, a copy of which will be transmitted to the Department in due course. The foregoing was accepted by Sr. López Castro in lieu of the inclusion of the clause “and that for statistical purposes the molasses shipped to the United States by Cuba in 1942 be treated as sugar.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Respectfully yours,

For the Ambassador:
Ellis O. Briggs
[Enclosure 1—Translation]

The Cuban Minister of State ( Cortina ) to the American Ambassador ( Messersmith )

Excellency: I have the honor to refer to the contract signed on . . . . . by representatives of the Cuban Sugar Stabilization Institute and the Defense Supplies Corporation, an agency of the United States Government, for the sale to the United States of the 1942 sugar cane crop of Cuba.

I confirm to Your Excellency that, in accordance with the terms of this contract, the production and exportation of the proceeds of the Cuban cane crop in 1942 shall be regulated by the sugar legislation now in force in Cuba, and that my Government will take the appropriate measures for both the manufacture of sugar and molasses and the delivery thereof to ports of embarcation.

My Government desires in addition to make the following observations:

1.
In view of the terms of the purchase contract, my Government desires to state that it is its understanding that the increases in relation to prices now prevailing in the income of sugar-producing areas in the United States will be through the medium of adjusting the [Page 251] raw sugar price ceiling. My Government wishes to know what assurances it may receive in this respect.
2.
The delivery of a portion of the crop in the form of high-test molasses for alcohol, as agreed to by the Institute at the request of the Defense Supplies Corporation, is performed as an act of cooperation by Cuba in the joint war effort and without prejudice to Cuba’s position as a supplier of the United States sugar market.
3.
The Government of the United States will exert appropriate efforts to the end that maritime freight rates from Cuban ports to United States ports for the transportation of the products of sugar cane shall not be raised during the life of the contract.

I avail myself [etc.]

(
J. M. Cortina
)
[Enclosure 2]

The American Ambassador ( Messersmith ) to the Cuban Minister of State ( Cortina )

No. 48

Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge Your Excellency’s note of this date referring to the contract signed on January . . . . . by representatives of the Defense Supplies Corporation, an agency of the United States Government, and the Cuban Sugar Stabilization Institute for the purchase by the United States of the 1942 sugar cane crop of Cuba.

I am pleased to observe that the Cuban Government understands that the production and exportation of the crop in 1942 will be undertaken in accordance with the terms of the contract and sugar legislation now in force in Cuba and that your Government will take the appropriate measures for both the manufacture of sugar and molasses and the delivery thereof to ports of embarcation.

I am directed by my Government, furthermore, to inform Your Excellency as follows:

1. The Government of the United States undertakes to exert during the life of the contract all appropriate efforts to the end that the present relative position as to net incomes of the various sugar-producing areas supplying the United States market shall be maintained, within the limits of United States legislation. Nothing in this or any other arrangement shall be interpreted in any way to obligate the United States not to reduce the duty on sugar from other countries.80

[Page 252]

With reference to items 2 and 3 of your note, I am pleased to inform Your Excellency that my Government shares the understanding of your Government.

Please accept [etc.]

(
George S. Messersmith
)
  1. For Decree 178, see Gaceta Oficial, Edition Extraordinaria, January 28, 1942.
  2. The contract and notes were signed on January 28, 1942; English text of contract not found in Department files; for Spanish text, see Gaceta Oficial, Edition Extraordinaria, February 5, 1942.
  3. Concerning the deletion of this sentence, see infra.