611.5931/71a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Denmark (Owen)
8. My No. 2, February 11, 7 p.m. and your despatch No. 282, February 20. Your despatch quotes both the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister as saying, “that there must be no discrimination against American commerce” and as holding out hope of an equitable adjustment. We are faced with the necessity of formulating our policy in respect to the generalization of tariff reductions contained in the Belgian trade agreement,6 which will be proclaimed April 1, with the reductions effective 30 days thereafter.7
The present plan is to issue a second proclamation, upon the proclamation of the Belgian agreement, listing the countries which discriminate against American trade. We earnestly hope that it will be possible to avoid listing Denmark as a discriminating country and a favorable reply to our note of February 15 might make it possible to avoid such action.
The reductions included in the Belgian agreement would be extended to Danish products so long as our existing treaty8 remains in force, but we would contemplate proposing the suspension by agreement of Articles 1 and 4 of the treaty at an early date provided no satisfactory adjustments were reached with Denmark. In these circumstances please endeavor to expedite a reply, which you will cable at the earliest possible moment.
- For text of agreement signed February 27, 1935, see Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 75 or 49 Stat. 3680.↩
- See Department of State, Press Releases, April 6, 1935, pp. 209 ff.↩
- Signed April 26, 1826, Hunter Miller (ed.), Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America, vol. 3, p. 239.↩