811.20 Defense (M) Colombia/85: Telegram
The Ambassador in Colombia ( Lane ) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:37 p.m.]
761. Department’s 653, June 5, 7 p.m.63 The President said to me this morning the Colombian Government does not insist on immediate installation of tire plant fully appreciating that because of shipping crisis it is not possible for us to grant priority for machinery at this moment. The Colombian Government would, however, like to have an assurance that once the crisis is alleviated we will assist in establishing a plant which is necessary for Colombian economy on a long range basis. Both the President and the Minister of National Economy emphasized that severe restrictions regarding the rise of rubber have been in force here for 2 months and that we will be guaranteed that output of plant would be only for Colombian essential needs. President and Minister also confirmed that embargo is now in effect prohibiting the exportation of rubber to any party other than the United States Government pending the conclusion of present negotiations.
As the President indicated that he is not familiar with the technical details regarding prices I shall discuss Department’s No. 653 with the Minister of National Economy early next week.
- Not printed.↩