561.35E1A/7–1844: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 18—3:45 p.m.]
5668. From Delegate to Sugar Council. Westermann, Dutch Delegate and Vice Chairman of Sugar Council, called today to discuss [Page 999] draft protocol for extension of Sugar Agreement, copy of which he had received from Foreign Office. He explained that he was trying to decide how to advise his Government regarding this proposal for extension. He said that he had two objections: (a) that article 2 removed all restraint upon participating countries—in particular upon production policies, and (b) took away all the Council’s important powers. He also voiced Dutch resentment, as a major sugar producer, at being confronted with what he thought was, to all intents and purposes, a fait accompli on a matter of major concern to his country. I explained to him, as much as seemed appropriate, the American attitude and said that, although the draft protocol might not be everything we would like it to be, we felt it accomplished the main immediate objective, namely, maintenance of existing machinery. It was therefore preferable to letting the agreement expire as seemed to be the only alternative.
Westermann seemed to accept the necessity of concessions to the British point of view and although he avoided any statement as to what his Government’s attitude would be toward extension he indicated that acceptance would be materially eased if the American and British Governments were able even informally to give some assurances at the next meeting of the Council when the proposal presumably would come up that it was not the intention as a consequence of article 2 to permit countries which had expanded production during the war to reap unfair advantage from such expansion in the post-war period.
It seems advisable to give Westermann some further information about the American attitude in which connection the Department’s instructions would be appreciated. [Steere.]