811.24 Raw Materials/399: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:17 p.m.]
2310. Department’s 1386, November 7, 11 p.m.
1. No Embassy representative attended subcommittee meeting. Riddell will furnish tomorrow a statement concerning the proceedings relative to his buying policy.
2. Committee meeting postponed until 15th.
3. The Embassy has today again expressed to the Colonial Office the Department’s view that the quota should be increased to 85% for the fourth and first quarters and its concern at the delay in accumulating stocks.
The Colonial Office replied that it would make an appropriate inquiry of the Committee.
Should the Committee fail to grant an increase the inquiry based upon numbered paragraph 4 will be repeated to the Colonial Office.
4. It appeared today from a brief conversation with Hay that he is resolutely opposed to a further fourth quarter quota increase; but he did not take such a pronounced stand respecting the first quarter, although arguing that the 75% rate would be adequate to cover current consumption and agreement on rubber. (He points out that accumulation of stocks is not mentioned in article 5.) Since Pawson’s statement transmitted with the Embassy’s 2301, November 7,52 also singled out the fourth quarter proposal for attack saying nothing of the first quarter, it may not be far off the mark to assume the Committee may grant some increase when it hears from the Colonial Office.
5. The difficulty in this whole situation is that we have looked with favor on the purchasing of this rubber for the Government contract in rather a slow fashion so that the price to the American manufacturer would not be entirely disturbed. The British feel that the quota increase will only result in marking down the price of rubber when instinctively everybody in England who has anything to do with the question of business, trade or money is attempting to get [Page 892] as high a price for their exports as they can. My own belief is that Viles should be here. There is no point in trying to carry on these negotiations by long distance and through third parties.
While I note that you do not want the Embassy to sit in with the Committee, nevertheless all we have been doing for the last 2 months is negotiating with them. We may not want to call this sitting in at formal meetings but the result is the same. It strikes me that Viles should get on a plane and come over here.
My own belief is that whether or not he gets here for the next meeting which has been postponed to the 15th nevertheless he should be here until the question is settled once and for all.
- Not printed.↩