Office of the Historian

811.20 Defense (M) Chile/383: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Chile (Bowers)

Washington, March 18, 1943—5 p.m.

311. For Low89 from Rosenthal,90 BEW. Your 468, March 10, 9 p.m.91 You are authorized to negotiate extension of overall agreement for period of 12 months from August 1, 1943, with semiannual review of Schedule A as now provided, subject to following changes:

1.
Include changes already authorized for present overall agreement.
2.
Reserve right on our part as of August 1, 1943, or at any time thereafter to eliminate from overall gold ores and concentrates and/or manganese, or to revise provisions relating thereto provided at least 3 months notice has been given.

Please submit text before signing. Metals Reserve Company concurs and, subject to our approval of final text, will instruct Graham to sign an agreement on these terms as its authorized representative.

Section 2 above is deemed necessary in case of gold because we are unable to ship these ores. Even if shipping were available the gold would reach this country and be smelted at a loss. Therefore, our present purchasing represents a subsidy of Chilean gold mining. Since signing of original overall the United States has ordered its own gold mines closed and is not buying gold ores anywhere else. To renew the arrangement in Chile would be unjustifiable.

Right to eliminate manganese is less important but we want this privilege in case stockpile in Chile becomes larger than is justified by later shipping developments. [Rosenthal.]

Hull
  1. Sam D. W. Low, Special Representative in Chile of the Board of Economic Warfare.↩
  2. Morris S. Rosenthal, Assistant Director, Board of Economic Warfare.↩
  3. Not printed.↩