800.6354/351: Telegram

The Chargé in the United Kingdom ( Matthews ) to the Secretary of State

1746. Department’s 1465 and Embassy’s 1693, both April 8.3

1. Your message given to Campbell4 personally before meeting of I. T. C. this morning.

2. Campbell gave me definite assurance that only matters up for consideration at I. T. C. meeting are questions of keeping Committee in being and liquidation of buffer stock fund. He wants you to know Committee fully realizes importance of previous consultation with Washington before any positive action taken affecting in any way United States of America interests.

3. Patiño’s5 reservations mentioned in my 1693, section B, revealed confidentially to Campbell by Pearce6 last night. Campbell tells me they are (a) I. T. C. should cancel its contract with Metals Reserve and (b) standard tonnages and voting powers should be reconsidered as soon as tin territories occupied by enemy are regained.

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Campbell commented that it was obvious no action with regard to Metals Reserve contract could be taken without full consultation with and agreement by Metals Reserve and that reconsideration of matters under (b) would of course, automatically occur at that time.

4. Campbell again expressed his deep regret that his secretaries had failed to notify Embassy in advance of meeting of I. R. R. C.7 on March 25 and for very short notice given Embassy beforehand in respect of meeting of I. T. C. today. He ascribed it to fact that he has been moving his office during past fortnight and that negligence had been caused solely by oversight of his clerical staff. Pawson8 of Rubber Secretariat actually responsible for sending out notice of rubber meeting asked me to state that he hoped unfortunate remissness oh his part would not be construed by Washington in any other terms than personal carelessness on his part.

We felt it opportune to intimate to Campbell and Pawson embarrassing position in which oversight placed Embassy and urgent desire of Department to be notified about all meetings and agendas well in advance in order to have ample time in which to formulate any views which it may wish to present to respective committees.

5. Reference 1693 section 1 A. Due to conditions mentioned in paragraph 4, minutes of last rubber meeting only received last night. They show that I. R. R. C. also agreed (a) that rate of release should remain at 120 percent until further notice; (b) that, so long as this decision remained in force, any annual surpluses should be covered by raising the quota retroactively, and that no deficiencies should be carried forward from one year to another;(c) that this decision should be communicated to the Governments of the “free” territories by their corresponding delegates, but that no communiqué should be published.

Copies of rubber and tin minutes being sent airmail.

Matthews
  1. Latter telegram not printed.
  2. Sir John Campbell, Chairman, International Tin Regulation Committee.
  3. A. Patiño, member of the Bolivian delegation on the International Tin Regulation Committee.
  4. E. V. Pearce, member of the Bolivian delegation on the International Tin Regulation Committee.
  5. International Rubber Regulation Committee; see Foreign Relations, 1941, vol. i, pp. 492 ff.
  6. A. G. Pawson.