Office of the Historian

812.50/323

Press Release Issued by the Department of State, April 29, 1943

April 29, 1943

As a result of the welcome opportunity afforded by the reciprocal visits made by President Roosevelt and President Avila Camacho,32 respectively, in Mexican and United States territory, the two Presidents reached the following agreement:

1.
It is considered desirable that expert economists undertake the study of disturbances in the balance of international payments and the related economic situation of the Republic of Mexico resulting from the peculiar circumstances of war economy in order to recommend appropriate measures of regulation and adjustment.
2.
Such measures would have as their objective the handling of economic relationships between the two countries in such a way that the production of strategic materials by Mexico should not be prejudiced and that their quantity should not be lessened and in order to ensure the stability of such production and its possible development, it is recognized that the cooperation of the United States will be indispensable.
3.
To this end and in order to assure that the economic relations between the two countries be continued on the most equitable basis, it has been decided:
I.
To create an economic committee made up of two representatives from each country which will study the balance of international payments and the resulting economic situation of the Republic of Mexico and formulate as the result of such study a program for economic cooperation.
II.
This committee will fix as its place of meeting either Mexico City or Washington and in the course of its studies the committee will be afforded by both governments all necessary information.
III.
This committee will commence its studies May 15 and will conclude its deliberations not later than June 15 of the present year.

  1. For President Roosevelt’s address at Monterrey, see Department of State Bulletin, April 24, 1943, p. 348. A Spanish version of his speech and that of President Camacho appear in the Memoria de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 1942–1943, pp. 405–410.↩