811.20 Defense (Wool)/568
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of State (Acheson)
| Participants: | Uruguayan Ambassador, Dr. Blanco |
| Five Members of the Commission on Wool Negotiations | |
| Mr. Dean Acheson |
The Uruguayan Ambassador called at his request. He brought with him five members of the Commission. The Commission, the Ambassador explained, had encountered difficulties in its negotiations with officers of the Department but that before reporting the difficulties to Uruguay, the Ambassador wished to discuss them with me to see whether they might be cleared up. The difficulties appeared to be as follows:
In our note to the Ambassador of September 17 we stated that there had been general recognition of the importance of wool in the Uruguayan economy and that there was a definite intention to provide an assured market through purchase by a United States Government agency or otherwise. The note then added: “However, there is a belief that Uruguayan interests will be best served if the Montevideo market is aligned more closely to world markets”. A similar statement was contained in a note delivered by the American Ambassador to the Uruguayan Foreign Office.
Apparently the Uruguayans had given much study to this sentence and had concluded that it meant that they were going to be paid the current market price in Argentina for their wool. This seemed to their minds to eliminate a negotiated price based upon the large purchase contemplated and the provision of an assured market.
However, the draftsman of the note (although this is not known by the Uruguayan Ambassador) had in mind that the implication of [Page 700] the sentence was that certain Uruguayan interests which had been speculating in wool would have to be satisfied with a lower price than they were then asking.
I asked the Uruguayan Ambassador what the difference was in figures between his position and that of the Department. He stated that it was his impression that the comparable market price in Argentina would be 37 to 39 cents whereas he had been offered 33 cents.
I said to the Ambassador that I was not prepared to discuss the question on its merits at the present time, but that I would discuss it with the officers of the Department concerned and would get in touch with him later on.