837.24/10–2444
The Secretary of State to the Foreign Economic Administrator ( Crowley )
My Dear Mr. Crowley: I acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated October 24, 1944 concerning payments on account which are due and in arrears from the Government of Cuba under the Lend-Lease Agreement.
During the past six months repeated requests for payment have been made both directly to the Government of Cuba through its Embassy here and through the American Embassy at Habana. For example, in its note of June 26, 1944 the Department enclosed the Statement LL–155 prepared by your Administration and the supporting schedules thereto,55 and requested the Government of Cuba to make a payment on account. Although it is true that the Lend-Lease Agreement with Cuba was signed on November 7, 1941, this statement, received from your Administration by letter of June 3, 1944,55 represented the first billing of charges made against the Government of Cuba and covered all lend-lease material transferred through March 1944. On June 26 an instruction was also sent to the American Embassy at Habana.56
Again, on September 27, 1944 the Embassy at Habana was instructed57 to make inquiry of the appropriate Cuban officials respecting payment on account and to indicate that the check should be made payable to the “Treasurer of the United States, For the Account of the Foreign Economic Administration”. At that time our Embassy at Habana was again requested to seek payment.
Only last month the Government of Cuba had a change in administration. Obviously, the new President, Dr. Grau, must be busily engaged in getting his administration organized. Recently, an officer of this Department was informed by Mr. Kempter58 of Foreign Economic Administration that the latter had received information that apparently Dr. Grau wishes to meet all payments on account which are due under the Lend-Lease Agreement.
[Page 916]Consequently, since this Department has already approached the Cuban Government several times within the relatively short period of six months with requests for payment on account, it would not be advisable at this time for political reasons to consider any alternative methods for expediting payments on account. Furthermore, any deviation from the accepted procedure which is used in the collection of lend-lease reimbursements would be discriminatory against Cuba vis-à-vis the other American Republics with which this Government has Lend-Lease Agreements.
Sincerely yours,
Assistant Secretary