611.623/72

Memorandum by the Secretary of State

The German Ambassador88 called and inquired whether the scrip situation as recently developed by the German Government and individual creditors here would create a condition that the Treasury might object to on the grounds that it partook of the nature of dumping. The Ambassador said that he thought since the two steps recently taken in Germany for the benefit of American creditors,89 it would be only reasonable and advisable that our Government should indicate as a permanent policy that the scrip arrangement had not created such condition, and was not such as would call for any anti-dumping steps by the Treasury. He was told that within recent months no question had been raised by the Treasury about this situation and no suggestion of an anti-dumping proceeding had been made, but that it would be difficult for this Government, which had not changed its laws or customs regulations, to foresee and make commitments about the effect of the scrip policy, which was being introduced from Germany, upon anti-dumping laws here. I stated to him that I would request Dr. Feis90 and Mr. Moffat91 to review the entire matter to date and if there was anything further that could be given him in the way of information, it would be gladly done.

C[ordell] H[ull]
  1. Hans Luther.
  2. For law enacted June 8, 1933, see telegram No. 96, June 9, 1933, 5 p.m., from the Chargé in Germany, Foreign Relations, 1933, vol. ii, p. 439; for the order of September 23, 1933, see note of November 18, 1933, from the German Embassy, supra.
  3. Herbert Feis, Economic Adviser, Department of State.
  4. Pierrepont Moffat, Chief, Division of Western European Affairs.