Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, The American Republics, Volume IX

818.51/8–1445

The President of the Export-Import Bank of Washington (Taylor) to the Costa Rican Minister of Finance (Bonilla Lara)²⁷

Washington, August 13, 1945.

My Dear Mr. Minister: I deeply appreciate your letter of July 6²⁸ and wish to inform you that careful consideration has been given to your proposal regarding the refunding of the Export-Import Bank loan under the Agreement of August 21, 1941, as amended,²⁹ for $5,000,000 to the Republic of Costa Rica.

In response to your request, I am prepared to recommend to the Board of Trustees of the Export-Import Bank that they approve postponement of the amortization of this loan for three years, by means of new bonds on which installment payments will commence April 1, 1949 and be payable thereafter in 47 consecutive, equal, quarterly payments, provided that such arrangement shall become operative only after the following steps have been taken:

1. Prepayment, in full, of the principal and interest on the loan under the Export-Import Bank Agreement of July 9, 1942, as amended,³⁰ for $2,000,000 to the Republic of Costa Rica, which was outlined in your letter of July 6.

2. Execution of an amendatory agreement providing for the postponement of the amortization payments and for the pledge, as collateral for the new bonds to be issued, of the revenues from the tax on gasoline as assigned at present to the current loan.³¹ The new bonds, of course, will be a direct and unconditional obligation of the Republic of Costa Rica. Such amendatory agreement will provide that it will not be effective until appropriate legislation has been enacted by the Congress of the Republic ratifying the agreement and that the Export-Import Bank be furnished with opinion of counsel that all legal steps have been taken to make the agreement and the new bonds valid and binding in accordance with their terms.

I shall await your reply to this letter before presenting the proposal to our Board of Trustees.

With kindest personal regards, I am

Sincerely yours,

Wayne C. Taylor

27. Copy of letter transmitted to Department by the Export-Import Bank in a note of August 14, 1945, to Mr. Jerome J. Stenger of the Division of Foreign Economic Development.
28. See footnote 26, p. 891.
29. Agreement and amendment not printed; this agreement, as amended, established a loan of $3,000,000 for the Inter-American Highway and a loan of $2,000,000 for tributary roads, the total falling due in 48 quarterly installments, the first payable on April 1, 1946 (818.51/3–2245).
30. Not printed; this agreement for a so-called Stabilization Loan was made at the request of the Department of State to meet a governmental financial crisis. Repayment was to be made in 14 semi-annual installments, the first payable on February 1, 1946. For documentation concerning the agreement, see Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. vi, pp. 239 ff.
31. The highway loan.