611.5231/801
The Secretary of State to the Spanish Ambassador (Calderón)
Excellency: Immediately prior to his departure from Washington, Ambassador Cárdenas forwarded to me a note dated May 18, 1934, in which he called my attention to the unsatisfactory condition of the trade between our two countries. I am, of course, aware of this situation and am anxious to bring about a satisfactory adjustment of the complaints which the Spanish Government may have with regard to the American treatment of Spanish goods as well as of the complaints which the American Government has against the Spanish treatment of certain American products.
I believe that these difficulties are not insurmountable and that the two governments can in a spirit of friendliness and cooperation adjust [Page 698] them to their mutual satisfaction. I feel constrained to point out, however, that I am not able to concur in Ambassador Cárdenas’ belief that the remedy for the present situation is the adoption of measures which will lead to a leveling off of the balance of trade between the United States and Spain. It is true that exports from the United States to Spain have ordinarily in the past considerably exceeded in value exports from Spain to the United States, but I believe that this uneven balance has represented approximately the availability in the respective countries of products needed by the other. As the President of the Spanish Council of Ministers is quoted as having said in a recent speech “. . .14 when Spain consumes certain products from countries which she has freely chosen, it is because she has found the line of least resistance: facility in means of communication, low prices, or better quality,—and when an attempt is made to restrict or canalize this spontaneous and natural current of peoples one can easily bring about higher prices, or poorer quality of imported products . . .” I believe, therefore, that the solution of the present problem lies not in the adoption of measures intended to bring about an unnatural and artificial balance but rather in the removal of present hindrances to trade in such a manner as to bring about a mutual expansion of our trade.
I am not yet able to fix a time at which it will be possible to open discussions with regard to these problems. I shall, nevertheless, carefully bear in mind this whole matter and will continue to hope that it may be possible to arrive at an early solution.
Accept [etc.]
- Omissions indicated in the original.↩