832.5151/532: Telegram
The Chargé in Brazil (Gordon) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 20—11:47 a.m.]
45. My 41, February 15, 6 p.m. Rio and São Paulo American Chambers of Commerce have sent a telegram to the National Foreign Trade Council urging American initiative in American-European loans to take care of entire Brazilian backlog.
I am informed that various American representatives here have requested their home offices to urge their respective trade export associations to approach Aranha with a view to securing definite assurances as to resumption of supply of official exchange to be applied [Page 350] to our backlog here. The thin stream of supply mentioned in my 39, February 14, 6 p.m., has apparently dried up again and it looks more and more as though there were an intention and desire to delay the resumption of official exchange supply just as long as possible, preferably presumably until the Brazilian mission has rounded out its negotiations with a view to securing credit.
Hope to cable further on this question of exchange supply tomorrow or the next day.