Office of the Historian

838.20/10–952

Memorandum of Conversation, by William B. Connett, Jr., of the Office of Middle American Affairs

confidential
[Washington,] October 9, 1952.

Subject:

  • SHADA
  • Participants: Ambassador Jacques Leger, Haitian Embassy
  • Mr. Miller—ARA
  • Mr. Mann—ARA
  • Mr. Connett—MID

Ambassador Leger spoke of an impasse which has occurred between the Haitian negotiating committee on Shada, headed up by Finance Minister Dominique, and the Export-Import Bank.1 Specifically, he said the Bank had proposed reducing the interest rate from 4 to 2 percent, extending the period of repayment of the indebtedness, and liquidating Shada. The Ambassador said this proposal was unacceptable to the Haitian Mission which wished to have the debt cancelled or substantially reduced. Consequently, Ambassador Leger said, the Mission was preparing to return to Haiti within a week or so.

Mr. Miller and Mr. Mann informed Ambassador Leger that the latter would pay Mr. Gaston a visit the following day to see if the State Department’s good offices might have some effect in resolving the impasse.

  1. Between late September and early November 1952, a mission representing the Haitian Government held a series of discussions with representatives of the Export-Import Bank at Washington for the purpose of resolving the SHADA problem.↩