893.113/1623
The Minister in Switzerland (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 15.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Legation’s despatch No. 4001 of August 6, 193580 and to previous correspondence concerning the position of the Swiss Government with regard to the embargo on export of arms to China.
The Legation has been informed by Sir George Warner, British Minister here, that he again took up this matter with Federal Councillor Motta a few days ago. Sir George Warner stated to Mr. Motta that since Switzerland had placed an embargo on arms to Italy and Ethiopia,81 and in the past had done the same thing in the Chaco affair,82 he did not see why it could not do so with regard to China. Mr. Motta replied that Switzerland had placed the above embargoes due to action taken by the League of Nations, of which it is a member, and that the League had not taken similar action against China and therefore the situation was entirely different. Sir George Warner said that this was entirely true, but that on the other hand it was most important that all of the nations concerned should make a common front on this question. Mr. Motta said that he had already obtained an opinion from the Department of Justice on this matter, in which the latter held that it did not believe that under the Federal Constitution the Federal Council had the right to declare such an embargo without the consent of the Federal Assembly. Nevertheless, he would take it up again with the Department of Justice in order to see if something could be done to take the action desired by the British and other Governments.
Respectfully yours,
Secretary of Legation
- Not printed.↩
- For correspondence concerning the Ethiopian-Italian conflict, see vol. i, pp. 594 ff.↩
- For correspondence concerning the Chaco dispute, see vol. iv, pp. 7 ff.↩