711.52/353: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Spain (Hayes)
469. Your 546, February 16, noon. While Alba’s views may reflect a former British position, the Department is confident your British colleague has now received instructions to support fully our efforts to obtain a complete and permanent wolfram embargo. For your information, there has been a satisfactory exchange of telegrams between the President and Mr. Churchill on this subject, in which the latter has indicated that your colleague has been instructed to align himself with you.
Ambassador Cárdenas called on the Acting Secretary Thursday66 morning on his own initiative and indicated that his Government seemed to be expecting the Department to issue some conciliatory statement before reaching a decision on the wolfram matter. The Acting Secretary replied that we did not contemplate issuing a statement until full agreement has been signified by the Spanish Government to a complete wolfram embargo. The Ambassador referred to the importance of his Government’s avoiding an appearance of yielding under pressure, and Mr. Dunn67 said he thought there would be no great difficulty about issuing some statement provided the complete embargo was agreed to. The Ambassador expressed the hope that such a statement might be made prior to publicity concerning agreement on the wolfram matter. Mr. Stettinius said he foresaw no difficulties in this respect.
[Page 345]Cárdenas intimated that while unaware of the nature of your most recent conversations with Jordana he had previously understood that you and your British colleague were prepared to consider a compromise. Both the Acting Secretary and Mr. Dunn made it clear that the British and American Governments are agreed that only a complete embargo will be satisfactory.
Cárdenas then referred to certain speculation in the London Times concerning the importance of bringing about a change of regime in Spain before the end of the war. The Acting Secretary assured him that our action had absolutely no political significance. Mr. Matthews68 stressed strong feeling here that continued exports of wolfram to Germany at this stage of the war mean American casualties. To this Cárdenas observed the Germans might feel that some Spanish supplies to the Allies could also mean German casualties, and he mentioned the importance of German supplies to Spain, specifically wheat. The Acting Secretary said that wheat could be obtained in Argentina and said we will be glad to give sympathetic consideration to the possibility of supplying materials now obtained by Spain from Germany, once the wolfram embargo is established.
Cárdenas was allowed to remain in no doubt concerning the highest importance attached to the complete embargo of wolfram or concerning identity of British and American views on this.
Sent to Madrid repeated to London.