400.119/1–1250: Circular airgram

The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic Offices 2

secret

From State and Commerce. Reference is made to our circular airgram of November 4 on United States export controls.3 As stated in the above referred to airgram the Department of Commerce has extended the export control of selected strategic commodities to all areas. Current export Bulletins 551, 552 and 553 announced the list of items for which the extended control applies. A few additional items may be added as a result of further review of certain items on which interagency agreement has not yet been reached. The selected list of commodities includes some items which in the opinion of United States authorities are of such strategic importance that no shipments should be permitted to Eastern Europe while in the case of other items including copper, lead and zinc only limited quantities should be licensed for export. It is the policy of the Department of Commerce not to approve for export any significant quantities of copper, lead, or zinc from the United States to Eastern European countries except possibly to Finland and Yugoslavia in special circumstances and to review shipments to other controlled areas to prevent transshipment to the Eastern controlled bloc.

In order to restrict the export of strategic commodities to Eastern Europe negotiations are in progress with certain Western European countries, including Western Germany, to establish export controls to Eastern Europe parallel to those of the United States, namely, complete embargo on some items and limited exports of others. These negotiations have progressed to a point at which it appears that parallel action by the Western European countries will be increasingly effective. Comparable controls have been instituted over exports [Page 66] in Japan. The Canadian government has also established similar controls.

The Department of Commerce and the Department of State have been increasingly concerned with the transshipment of strategic commodities of United States origin through Latin American countries to Eastern Europe, either in their original form or after advanced processing, as well as the direct export of such commodities from Latin America. The Department of Commerce and the Department of State have considered three possible steps to control transshipment of goods through Latin American countries or their direct export from those countries:

1.
Obtaining cooperation in the United States by American Corporations having subsidiary companies in Latin America producing or exporting strategic commodities.
2.
Obtaining the control of exports of strategic commodities from Latin American countries by subsidiary companies of American firms by means of direct approach through the Foreign Service with the subsidiary company.
3.
The establishment of effective parallel export controls, either formal or informal, by Latin American countries similar to those now under negotiation with certain Western European countries.

It has been decided to approach the question of control of strategic commodities from Latin American countries with caution and on a gradual basis. For this reason only the first step outlined above will modities of United States origin through Latin American countries is forthcoming, consideration will be given to further steps (2 and 3 above) only if that cooperative effort fails to achieve effective control.

Although this airgram is directed mainly to those Missions of countries exporting copper, lead, and zinc, all Missions are requested to comment immediately as to (1) the possible effectiveness of the proposed step 1, as well as on the other two possible methods of controlling the export of strategic commodities for Eastern Europe, and (2) the economic and political impact which the Missions would foresee from the imposition of strict limitative control of copper, lead and zinc to Eastern Europe.

Acheson
  1. This circular airgram was sent to the diplomatic missions in the American Republics.
  2. Not printed, but for a summary transmitted as a circular telegram of November 2, 1949, 2 a.m., to all diplomatic offices, see Foreign Relations, 1949, vol. v, p. 167.