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SCI Files

Memorandum by the Commanding General, Manhattan Engineer District (Groves)

[Washington,] 23 February, 1945.

Major Vance,17 the officer who accompanied the Secretary of State on his visit to Rio de Janeiro, made the following report:

1.
The discussions between Secretary Stettinius and President Vargas took place on 17 February 1945 in the presence of Senhora Elvira [Page 6] Amaral Peixoto, the President’s daughter, (who acted as interpreter) and Senhor Leao Velloso, the acting Brazilian Foreign Minister. A wide variety of subjects was discussed by the Secretary and President Vargas prior to the mention of thorium. When this particular subject was brought up the Secretary brought Major Vance into the meeting.
2.
The Secretary based his approach on the following points as we had agreed with the British:
a.
The approach should be limited to paving the way for future negotiations and to securing optional control of the situation.
b.
It would be unwise at this time to make any definite agreement as to prices and quantities.
c.
All that was desired was an understanding through conversations that Brazil would agree not to sell to others without our consent and to sell to us on a reasonable basis both as to price and quantity. Terms would be agreed upon later.
3.
The Secretary emphasized the desirability and the advantages of close cooperation between the United States and Brazil after the war as well as at present. After some discussion of the particular needs of Brazil for materials which could be made available by the United States, the Secretary stated that the United States was interested in maintaining a supply of monazite, the carrier of thorium, for industrial purposes. He pointed out that during the past five years the United States had purchased the entire Brazilian export of monazite sands and that India might be expected to dominate the market completely in the future, owing to lower labor costs in that country and to the higher grade of the Indian product. In keeping, however, with our general policy of buying within the Hemisphere, we would like to enter into negotiations leading to a possible continuation of our purchases of the Brazilian exports of monazite and implied we wanted all of their exports. Neither price nor definite quantities were mentioned.
4.
President Vargas replied that Brazil had already entered into several agreements to provide the United States with strategic materials of various types and that the Brazilian government stood ready to continue that policy. President Vargas suggested that negotiations could be carried out with Senhor Valentim F. Bouças (Senhor Bouças is the Director of the Brazilian Commission to Control the Washington Agreements.) on this subject and that the discussions could be initiated in Mexico City if we desired. President Vargas stipulated that any agreement would have to be approved by his government before taking effect.
5.
The Secretary then summed up the conversation by saying that he understood it would be agreeable to the Brazilian government if [Page 7] our representatives discussed with Senhor Bouças the possibility of arriving at an optional agreement to purchase the Brazilian monazite production. President Vargas concurred.
L. K. Groves

Major General, U.S.A.
  1. Maj. John E. Vance, on the Staff of General Groves.↩