Office of the Historian

818.24/471: Telegram

The Chargé in Costa Rica (Trueblood) to the Secretary of State

San Jose, August 28, 1943—4 p.m.
[Received 7:52 p.m.]

612. Department’s circular airgram August 23, 7 p.m.45 After careful consideration all interested officers including the OEW46 [Page 189] representative unanimously agree that in view of the special local conditions indicated below it is not desirable to relax the control now exercised under Decentralization Plan by placing materials in free supply under general license.

(1)
Costa Rica is in a particularly unfavorable situation so far as shipping facilities are concerned.
(2)
A huge backlog of unshipped orders in comparison with the shipping allotment still exists and has not been materially reduced by the larger arrivals during the past 3 months.
(3)
Although import recommendations have been issued for a tonnage greatly in excess of the shipping allotment, a far greater demand exists.
(4)
In view of this situation it was necessary to suspend the issuance of import recommendations for nonquota articles from July 15 to August 31, which has caused a large accumulation of orders.

A detailed report will follow in a few days, and pending its receipt it is recommended that no decision be made.47

Trueblood
  1. Ante, p. 122.↩
  2. Office of Economic Warfare, which assumed on July 15, 1943, the functions and powers of the Board of Economic Warfare.↩
  3. The Charge elaborated on the four points in his airgram No. A–909 of September 4, 1943, not printed.↩