800.8830 Brazil/252: Telegram
The Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:02 p.m.]
3004. Reference Department’s confidential airgram number 1570, June 5, 1943, 1:30 p.m. The so-called nonimportable list that appears in current Export Bulletin number 90 was a list of commodities licensed for export to Brazil prior to decentralization, under individual or general license, which were awaiting shipment at the time the list was published. Shipments of the commodities listed mainly consumer goods and in most cases luxury goods were at that time displacing essential goods that were awaiting shipment. Brazil and American control authorities were being publicly and privately criticized for permitting ships to arrive from the United States with a wide assortment of frivolous and patently unessential consumers goods at a time when it was admittedly impossible to provide enough shipping to supply the basic essential needs of industry, transportation and public services.
Procedure under the decentralization plan now in effect with Brazil obviates the necessity for the publication or maintenance of any restrictive list in the U. S. since export licenses for general requirements can only be issued when supported by a preference request recommendation or by special approval of the Carteira in exceptional cases. The Carteira has published a list of the commodities for which recommendations will normally be granted. This list is subject to change as circumstances warrant and applications for preference request recommendations for commodities which do not appear on this list will be considered provided the essentiality of the product is established or it is proved that the denial of a preference request recommendation would result in undue hardship to interested parties. The Carteira has indicated that it would be prepared to give similar consideration to any applications made to the Board of Economic Warfare which the latter may deem necessary or advisable to consider when not accompanied by a preference request recommendation.
There would be no objection on the part of the Carteira to an announcement by the Board incorporating as much of the foregoing as may be desirable.