103.9169/2815
The Ambassador in Chile ( Bowers ) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 17.]
The Ambassador has the honor to refer to the Embassy’s telegram no. 453 of March 7, 1944,59 and to transmit herewith a copy and translation of the letter of March 7, 1944,59 from the Chilean Country Agency (National Foreign Trade Council) expressing approval of the proposal to remove from the Decentralization Plan the commodities included in the five categories set forth in the Department’s circular airgram of February 15, 1944, 11:40 a.m.60
It will be noted that in its letter of approval the Council indicates its desire to be kept informed currently respecting such quotas or estimates of supply as are established for Chile by the authorities in Washington. The National Foreign Trade Council wishes to use this information as a guide in the issuance of Exchange Permits, or Advance Import Permits, which must be obtained by importers in order to effect the purchase of commodities outside the country. The present exchange control procedure has been in effect in Chile for a number of years and will remain as a control over imports into the country after the proposed simplification of the Decentralization Plan has been made effective and Import Recommendations are no longer required. In applying this control, however, the Chilean Government wishes to take full advantage of available estimates of supply in the same manner as it has done in the issuance of Import Recommendations pursuant to the Decentralization Plan procedure.
The National Foreign Trade Council also indicates a desire to be informed respecting the rejection of applications for Export Licenses for commodities included in estimates of supply, and expresses the hope that the authorities in Washington will be guided by the Advance Import Permits (Autorizaciones para Importar Previas) issued by the National Foreign Trade Council when consideration is given to corresponding applications for export licenses presented to the Foreign Economic Administration in Washington. In regard to the latter point, representatives of the Council have suggested the possibility of a requirement on the part of the Foreign Economic Administration that applicants for Export Licenses involving shipments to Chile accompany their applications with a reference, by number, to the Advance Import Permit previously issued by the National Foreign Trade Council to the importer of the merchandise in Chile for each such shipment.
While the term “understood” is used in the penultimate and last [Page 741] paragraphs of the letter from the National Foreign Trade Council, the substance of these two paragraphs should not be construed as a qualification of the Council’s approval of the proposed simplification of the Decentralization Plan. The considerations outlined in the paragraphs in question were discussed informally by the Representative of the National Foreign Trade Council and Representatives of the Embassy prior to the drafting of the Council’s letter and at that time it was suggested that in its letter approving the proposal of the Foreign Economic Administration, the Council might desire to set forth its wishes in respect to these matters. The Embassy agreed to ascertain from the authorities in Washington whether it would be possible to comply with the Council’s wishes.
The Embassy would appreciate being informed respecting the reply which may be made to the National Foreign Trade Council in regard to the questions raised in this letter.