811.20 Defense (M) Brazil/263: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery)

477. Your 495, February 20. Subject matter of the first paragraph of your telegram has been discussed with the Minister of Finance. It was his opinion, which the Department shares, that the appointment of such a committee might appropriately be deferred until the conclusion of negotiations now going on in Washington which may result in an agreement for the establishment of a development corporation by the Government of Brazil. This development corporation might make the selected committee to which you refer unnecessary.

Detailed discussions have been held with Dr. Dantas94 and with other members of the Mission on the various commodities subject to the strategic materials agreement, and, as suggested in the second paragraph of your 495 and in your 565 of February 24,95 the Brazilian Mission has been requested to telegraph to Rio suggesting that pending cases on proposed additions of commodities to the overall agreement be expedited.

Your 513, February 21.96 It is understood that the cotton linters agreement has been approved and that the Minister of Finance is telegraphing today to this effect.

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Your 530, February 21.97 The Minister of Finance has informed the Department that he will propose, probably today, an increase in the price of rubber over that set out in Department’s 313 of February 9,98 as well as certain other modifications in the proposal of the Rubber Reserve Company.

Welles

[For texts of an exchange of notes between the Acting Secretary of State (Welles) and the Brazilian Minister for Finance (Souza Costa) concerning the mobilization of the productive resources of Brazil and the extension of credit by the United States, dated March 3, 1942, see Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 370, or 57 Stat. (pt. 2) 1314.]

  1. Garibaldi Dantas, Brazilian cotton expert.
  2. Latter not printed.
  3. Not printed.
  4. Not printed.
  5. Post, p. 691.