Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1942, The American Republics, Volume V

740.00112A European War 1939/6205: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, January 16, 1942—6 p.m.
[Received January 16—12:35 p.m.]

239. 1. Ministry Economic Warfare has asked the Embassy if it could ascertain within the next few days the Department’s policy, since Japan’s entry into the war, in considering firms of Japanese nationality or race for inclusion in the Proclaimed List. MEW tends to consider the question of race more important in the cases of Japanese than in the cases of Germans or Italians. However, it recognizes the impracticability of carrying every small Japanese trader in the American Republics on the Statutory List. MEW seems to feel that its policy on the nationality factor may not be entirely appropriate for Japanese if adhered to strictly as in the case of Germans and Italians.

2. MEW proposes to accede to the request of the Netherlands Government to send an observer to the Blacklist committee meetings.

Winant