711.3327/12–646
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Uruguay (McGurk)
us urgent
444. Text of air transport agreement forwarded urdes 33 Dec 648 appears satisfactory except for following.
Re art 12 we would prefer language based on US bilateral agreements with Greece and Czecho49 “The provisions of this agreement shall become operative from the day it is signed. The Uruguayan Govt shall notify the Govt of the USA of the approval of this agreement by the Uruguayan Congress, and the Govt of the USA shall consider the agreement as becoming definitive upon the date of such notification by the Uruguayan Govt.”
If Uruguayans insist on using their art 12 form, Dept feels revision still necessary. Their art 12 has definite treaty connotations and first sentence implies we also will exchange instrument of acceptance, which is impracticable under our executive agreement procedure. Without changing substance of Uruguayan language Dept suggests following much more acceptable from our standpoint:
“This agreement will be approved by each contracting party in accordance with its own law, and the agreement shall enter into force definitively upon an exchange of diplomatic notes in Montevideo indicating such approval. Pending the approval of this agreement by the Uruguayan Congress and the exchange of notes mentioned in the first sentence of this paragraph, both contracting parties undertake, in accordance with their constitutional powers, to make effective the provisions of this agreement from the date on which it is signed”. In any event you should make clear that a note from Uruguayan Govt informing of approval by its Congress will be adequate for our purpose, and even if they choose to transmit instrument of acceptance therewith, we intend merely to acknowledge their note and confirm understanding that agreement has come into force definitively from such date.
Believe Sections B and C of annex should read “shall” instead of “should”.
Para B Section 2 Annex line 5 page 7 English draft: recommend words “to be” be inserted after “route or routes”. Our interpretation this para that Uruguayans will be accorded traffic rights in US on route or routes to be agreed upon, whereas present language might [Page 1289] mean Uruguayans could obtain same rights in US as US services on routes already agreed to in para A this section.
President signed Full Power for McGurk and Mitchell Dec 10 which is being forwarded air pouch. Impracticable for Dept to notify Uruguayan FonOff directly, but separate tel informs Emb re Full Power, and Emb may certify this tel to FonOff.
Telegraph final language art 12 and whether other above modifications can be made.50
- Not printed.↩
- Department of State, Treaties and Other International Acts Series Nos. 1560 and 1626.↩
- In telegram 594, December 13, 1946, 7 p.m., Ambassador McGurk indicated that the Department’s modification of the Uruguayan version of article 12 and other minor changes were acceptable to Uruguay. The air transport agreement was signed at Montevideo, December 14, 1946, and entered into force provisionally on that date. (711.3327/12–1346)↩