File No. 652.119/726
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Spain ( Willard)
1044. For Chadbourne [from War Trade Board]:
No. 31. Your 21, Embassy’s 1226, April 11, 1 p.m.;1 Embassy’s unnumbered [1234], April 13, 10 a.m.; and your 24, Embassy’s 1236, April 13, 9 p.m.1
From March 8 to April 5, we have issued for Spain export licenses of number and value as follows: 81 for foodstuffs, $332,000; 31 for oils, $675,000; 1,258 for metals and machinery, including large quantities of railway supplies, $5,289,000; 70 for cotton and products, $5,888,000; and miscellaneous items with the foregoing making up a total of 2,042 licenses valued at total of $12,808,000. This has been increased by a large amount by licenses issued during the past ten days, the total of which is not available. We suggest revoking outstanding licenses for such oil, barrel staves, phosphate rock and cotton as shall not have left port. We suggest allowing metals, machinery and railway supplies already licensed to go forward. If you approve revoking licenses as suggested above, we will not reissue these nor reissue any new licenses for any of foregoing commodities except after first communicating with and hearing from you. In respect to nonessentials, they are of no great value to Spain, and holding them is unnecessarily hard upon our merchants and inadvisable from standpoint of Spanish exchange. On account of the large number of licenses issued for above materials, unless we revoke as suggested, the only pressure which can be exerted will be by refusing further licenses for cotton, the March ration for which has been shipped. We shall await your opinion before taking definite action and you will please keep the above confidential until we advise you further after hearing from you.
You may notify Foreign Office that after May 7 our bunker regulations will again apply. We approve your working closely with French and English.
Third stenographer for your office is leaving here today.