811.20 Defense (M) Portugal/1475a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Brazil (Caffery)
1325. The British and American Governments are deeply concerned over the continued exports of wolfram from Portugal to Germany. As this mineral is vital to German tank, munitions and armament production the war is being prolonged and the lives of allied troops sacrificed by the continued shipments from the Iberian Peninsula, the bulk of which come from Portugal. The Department is informed that total German wolfram requirements for this year [Page 102] are estimated at 3,000 tons and that it appears that she will obtain about 2,000 tons from Portugal and Spain.
In view of Brazil’s particularly close ties with Portugal and considering Aranha’s63 and João Neves’64 assurances of their readiness to help us in Portugal, you are requested to explore the possibilities of Brazilian assistance at Lisbon in this matter. We feel confident that Brazil will be as anxious as we are to reduce, in so far as possible, this help to our common enemy.
Ambassador Martins,65 with whom this problem has been discussed, is sending a parallel message to the Itamaraty.66