239. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, November 29, 19561
SUBJECT
- United States-Mexican Aviation Agreement
PARTICIPANTS
- The Acting Secretary, Mr. Hoover
- Ambassador Manuel Tello
- ARA—Mr. Rubottom
Following greetings and an inquiry by the Ambassador regarding the health of Secretary Dulles, the Ambassador announced that he had requested the appointment in order to deliver, under instructions from his Government, a copy of the note regarding the proposed Aviation Agreement which had been handed to Ambassador White in Mexico City last Saturday. The Ambassador stated that he had been following this subject for the past 10 years and that he believed this represented a real “break through”, and that their proposal constituted the “first step” in what he was certain could be a long-term solution. He added that he knew President Ruiz Cortines had achieved agreement within his Government, in accordance with the terms of the note, only after great effort, and that he felt it was a very constructive proposal.
The Acting Secretary replied that he wished to speak frankly with the Ambassador regarding his own disappointment that the Mexican proposal seemed to set the clock back 10 years and almost to ignore the understandings which he thought had been informally agreed to on September 29 by Finance Minister Carillo Flores and himself.2 The Acting Secretary noted specifically the main points which were at variance with the last U.S. proposal—(1) the restriction to one airline on each route, (2) the reversion to the status quo on the expiration of the agreement, and (3) the omission of our draft annex thus apparently making no provision covering what we had [Page 744] understood to be mutually acceptable principles governing operations.
The Ambassador undertook to defend the Mexican proposal, pointing out that the “status quo” really had no significance since the United States could institute proceedings to terminate Mexican airline operations at any time it actually wanted to do so, once the agreement ceased. He stated that United States and Mexican airlines had been operating in each other’s country for the last 20–25 years and that their proposal to make applicable each Government’s respective laws should be adequate by virtue of the precedent already established. The only difficulty he foresaw was to objection no. (1) above, since he doubted that Mexican Airlines would ever go along with their Government’s approving an agreement which might permit more than one airline to operate a route.
Mr. Rubottom expounded on the history of the United States-Mexican negotiations which had led to the belief that virtual agreement had been reached on the operating plans incorporated in the annex to our draft note handed to Carillo Flores on September 29. He declared that the United States had made several important concessions to Mexico down through the years in negotiations but that it had to hold firm to certain principles regarding civil aviation policy to the application of which it was dedicated all over the world.
The Acting Secretary pointed out that, as far as the United States is concerned, the record showed that the CAB had been very careful in the granting of route certificates to airlines, always taking into account load factors, traffic potential, et cetera. To the Ambassador’s statement that Mexican Airlines simply did not have the capital to compete with U.S. airlines, Mr. Hoover noted that Mexican Airlines in recent years had expanded their operations tremendously and seemed to be able to buy all the equipment they needed.
The Acting Secretary then read to Ambassador Tello the memorandum of record which was agreed to by himself and Finance Minister Carillo Flores on September 29, pointing out that the latter had taken a copy with him to Mexico along with a copy of our draft note with annex. The Ambassador seemed stunned by the language of the memorandum to which Carillo Flores had agreed, observing somewhat lamely that he had not been aware of the extent of Carillo Flores’ undertaking and that he had not known of the memorandum. He terminated his call by saying he would report immediately to his Government regarding his conversation with the Acting Secretary.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.1294/11–2956. Confidential. Drafted by Rubottom. In a memorandum to Hoover dated November 27, Rubottom wrote that Ambassador Tello had telephoned three times that day to request a meeting with the Acting Secretary. Hoover approved Rubottom’s recommendation that he receive the Mexican Ambassador. (Ibid., 611.1294/11–2756) In a memorandum to Hoover dated November 28, Rubottom recommended that the Acting Secretary express to Ambassador Tello “surprise and concern that the agreement reached during your conversations with Mr. Carrillo Flores, which you were led to believe had the blessing of President Ruiz Cortines, have apparently been disregarded in the preparation of the Mexican counter-proposal which in effect reflects the status of our negotiations 10 years ago.” (Ibid., 611.1294/11–2856)↩
- Not further identified, but see footnote 1 above.↩