740.00112 European War 1939/8481: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)
1223. Reference Department’s 1154, May 14 and your 3015, May 17. We have carefully reviewed our proposed action in the light of your telegram. British Embassy here has suggested slight changes in instructions to your British colleague which would make it possible for your statement and the statement of your British colleague to be identical:
1. We agree with the British suggestion that in our statement accompanying the note you may omit the revocation of the validity of existing navicerts or export licenses in respect to goods which are not shipped within 14 days from the date of presentation of the note. Referring to Department’s 978, April 27, paragraph number 1, second sentence will then read “It is not intended that this suspension should apply to existing navicerts or export licenses; nor would it apply to shipments, etc.”
2. We do not agree that at the presentation of the note the Swiss should be told that we would be prepared to reopen Swiss import facilities if the Swiss agree to grant no new credits to Germany and assure us that pending final decision on undesirable exports, such exports will be kept below average 1942 levels. To tell the Swiss this at the outset, in our opinion, places a limit on what we may expect from the Swiss in finally meeting our desires at the conclusion of the Swiss-German negotiations. It seems to us unlikely that the Swiss would have the incentive to press for anything more favorable to us in the negotiations than that which was necessary to restore their import facilities. Thus, at the end of the negotiations we would be faced with a fait accompli and the contemplated sanctions would become impractical. British Embassy here agrees with this view, has wired to London to this effect and by now your British colleague may have received additional instructions.
It is thus now contemplated that in presenting the note your oral statement will be along the lines suggested in Department’s 978 of April 27 as amended in this telegram (dropping out the 14-day provision) and emphasizing (a) and (b) of paragraph number 3 of Department’s 1154 of May 14. You may add that we will always be ready to consider and weigh any assurances which the Swiss may desire to put forward respecting credits and undesirable exports with a view to lifting the sanctions during the Swiss-German negotiations or as long as we are convinced that our desires are being met.
It may be that this procedure will result in the Swiss giving us better assurances than the ones proposed by the British as a condition [Page 838] for temporarily lifting the sanctions. In any case it will give us a chance to weigh these assurances and make sure that real steps are being taken to meet our desires as opposed to vague promises of future action.
3. The discrepancies between the British instructions and your instructions pointed out by you in paragraph number 2 of 3015 of May 17 result from the fact that the British were referring to conditions which should be met to lift the sanctions temporarily and, since these conditions are not now to be stated at the outset, they become irrelevant. For your information, however, phrase “whether based on coal deliveries or not” was merely inserted for emphasis. It is obvious that if Germany is denied all further credits, credits based on coal deliveries would be included. The use of the term “immediate” in relation to reduction of undesirable exports is meant to indicate merely that positive steps should be taken now as distinguished from vague promises of future action. We do not intend to be unreasonable if we are satisfied that the Swiss are in fact in the process of meeting our desires. The reduction in undesirable exports should of course provide for reduction in those items to which we attach great importance.
4. Since the Swiss-German negotiations have now been progressing for many weeks we deem it of the utmost importance that the proposed action be taken as soon as possible and we hope that you will be able to agree with your British colleague on details and phraseology, using your own judgment and discretion in the solution of any inconsistencies.
5. We appreciate the views which you have expressed. We believe the course of action which we have now finally decided upon reconciles your views with the views of the Department, the Board of Economic Warfare and the British to the extent possible and, if we are satisfied that the Swiss are taking definite steps to meet our desires, resulting in a temporary lifting of the sanctions, we will then be in the position of threatening to reimpose sanctions pending the outcome of the Swiss-German negotiations. If this stage is reached the situation will coincide with that originally suggested by you.
6. The term “embargo” has crept into recent telegrams. We presume that this term has been used for convenience to express a complicated situation. The sanctions envisaged do not constitute an “embargo” and we do not believe it wise to use that term in your conversation with the Swiss.