611.5631/85
The Minister in the Netherlands (Tobin) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 6.]
Sir: Referring to the Department’s strictly confidential circular Instruction of August 18, 1923, entitled: “Proposed Inclusion of Unconditional Most-Favored-Nation Clauses in Commercial Treaties”, (Diplomatic Serial No. 211, File No. 611.0031),6 I have the honor to report that Mr. Samuel H. Cross, Commercial Attaché of the Legation, had an occasion to bring this matter up discreetly in a private conversation to-day with Dr. J. A. Nederbragt, Chief of the Economic Section of the Netherlands Foreign Office.
Dr. Nederbragt stated that the question of some new arrangement with the United States had already come up in the Foreign Office committee dealing with tariff questions and that the Foreign Office would be extremely glad to negotiate an unconditional most-favored-nation clause with the United States, as all the Netherlands asks is competitive equality.
In view of the fact that Dr. Nederbragt has been charged with the work of preparing new commercial agreements with foreign countries, it seems fairly safe to assume that the Netherlands Government [Page 477] would not be at all opposed to the suggestion made in the Department’s Instruction.
I have [etc.]