Office of the Historian

600.119/1887: Telegram

The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Davis ) to the Acting Secretary of State

London , December 21, 1918.
[Received December 21—5:39 p.m.]

4817. War Trade Board [from Sheldon]: Number 2156. Refer your 1894 Department 3572, December 20, 3 p.m., and our 2154 of today.41 Adequate reply today is impossible but we can state:

1.
Your understanding of the free list is correct, that is to say no individual export licenses from United Kingdom are required for commodities on this list. Customs officials prevent consignments to firms on statlist and shippers to such consignees are liable to arrest and imprisonment. In view of the objections on your part to permitting individuals on confidential list to receive free list goods we shall propose to A.B.C. at meeting to be held December 24th, to modify their previous decision in such manner that consignment of goods on free list to individuals on confidential list will be prevented in United Kingdom. This can be done by action on the part of customs officials thus obviating the necessity of reimposing export licenses for these goods. We are assured that the A.B.C. will act favorably on this suggestion.
2.
Your understanding of important enemy trade modifications now adopted for Northern Neutrals is correct except as to (a) modification of free list conditions will in all probability be made as indicated above and (b) that proposed revision of statutory list is as you state except that it is not proposed to remove banks and financial houses. It is now understood however that no form of revision shall be made without your full accord.
3.
The British do not feel strongly the desirability of relaxation of enemy trade restrictions by elimination of confidential list and elimination of individual export licenses for a large list of commodities. In adopting the free list their motive was that unimportance of goods in this list rendered the considerable trouble entailed in preventing these goods from reaching firms on the confidential black list not worth while. The British view as to measures to be adopted for further relaxations is: (a) by additions to free list of only unimportant commodities concerning which there would be complete unanimity of [Page 771] opinion from all Associated Governments; (b) by creating of a non-ration list, articles on which would require individual export licenses from all Associated Governments; (c) by considerable increase of rations for goods remaining in ration lists except for a few vital raw materials.
4.
That part of your telegram dealing with Latin America cannot be answered today because your telegram was received too late to arrange for interviews with heads of Departments concerned. Reply to this portion will be sent December 23rd at earliest hour possible and this will apply to further questions not answered in this telegram.

Davis
  1. No. 2154 not printed.↩