818.51/1–346
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Jerome J. Stenger of the Division of Foreign Economic Development
| Participants: | Finance Minister Bonilla Lara of Costa Rica |
| Ambassador Francisco de Gutierrez of Costa Rica | |
| Mr. Taylor, President, Export-Import Bank | |
| Mr. Darton, Export-Import Bank | |
| Mr. Stenger, Department of State |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mr. Taylor brought up the question of the debt to the Export-Import Bank. He said that it was his opinion that the two outstanding loans to the Bank should be recast and consolidated into one loan, and that he was prepared to recommend to the Board of Directors longer term notes to be covered by a pledge of the income from the gasoline tax only. He added that he would recommend a new loan agreement whereby the consolidated indebtedness would be amortizable at an annual figure to be determined from a study of the income from the gasoline tax. The gasoline tax would be re-pledged at the present figure of fifty centavos per gallon with the provision that all excess receipts above the agreed figure would be applied as additional amortizations on the new notes, and if the receipts from the gasoline tax failed to meet the amortization figure the Costa Rican Government would have to make up the difference.
Mr. Taylor alluded to the conversation he had with Mr. Bonilla at San Francisco and said that, as he had expressed himself at that time, he was willing to help the Costa Ricans as much as he could and consequently thought that the newly proposed plan would be more beneficial to them especially as the payments would be spread over a longer period of time—instead of eleven years the payments might even be spread over a twenty year period, depending, of course, on the amount of revenue realized from the gasoline tax.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .