740.00112A European War 1939/11135
The American Embassy in Argentina to the Argentine Ministry for Foreign Affairs46
aide-Mémoire
At the time of the collapse of France in June, 1940, there was, it is understood, an accumulation of three or four hundred million French francs in the fund of the Argentine-French payments agreement. Shortly thereafter it was made known that when this fund became exhausted the Argentine authorities would not authorize further transfers of payments to occupied or unoccupied France during the remainder of the war. It has recently come to the attention of the Embassy of the United States of America that authorizations have been granted for two sizable financial remittances to occupied France by the Cervecería Argentina Quilmes and the Banco Hipotecario Franco-Argentino, these funds being transferred entirely outside of the Argentine-French payments agreement.
The Ambassador of the United States has been instructed by his Government to inform his Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship that the United States Government considers the transfers in question to constitute a serious violation of Resolution V of the Rio de Janeiro Conference.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in Argentina in his despatch No. 4874, April 27; received May 8.↩