611.4131/407: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 5—6:55 p.m.]
700. Yesterday the President of the Board of Trade requested me to meet him this afternoon, which I did. Mr. Stanley gave me a copy of the communication which he said would be presented to you today by the British Ambassador in Washington. He did not discuss with me its contents but he went on to say that he wished to assure me of his great desire, which was shared by every member of the Cabinet, that these proposals would constitute a basis for negotiations leading to an agreement between the United States and Great Britain, insofar as Great Britain could act without commitments from the other members of the Commonwealth. He also stated his earnest hope that such concessions as might be deemed necessary by the United States from Canada, Australia, et cetera, might be forthcoming, but that the British Government was restricted, of course, by the Ottawa Agreements and by the necessity of maintaining proper relations within the Commonwealth.
He said he hoped and believed the United States Government realized the difficulties and complexities of the situation, and that the United States Government would also realize the desire and purpose of the British Government to go as far as it possibly could in an effort to bring about a trade agreement. He stated that it was the purpose and intention of his Government in the statement sent forward today, to lay a firm foundation upon which the trade agreement might be built and that his Government, in making this proposal, was endeavoring to go as far as possible, within the limitations of the Ottawa Agreements, in meeting the wishes of the United States Government.