611.4131/430
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of State (Sayre)
| Participants: | Mr. Chalkley of the British Embassy, |
| Mr. Stirling of the British Board of Trade, and | |
| Mr. Sayre, Mr. Hawkins, and Mr. Hickerson. |
This afternoon Mr. Chalkley of the British Embassy, and Mr. Stirling of the British Board of Trade, came to see me concerning the memorandum handed to the British Ambassador this morning. (See memorandum of conversation between Sir Ronald Lindsay, the Secretary, and myself of today’s date.) They were somewhat concerned lest the memorandum might require the British Cabinet to approach all of the Dominions afresh in order to satisfy the “assumption” of the United States Government as expressed at the top of page 2 of the memorandum. After some discussion, I informed Mr. Chalkley that it was definitely not the expectation of the United States that the British Dominions must be approached by the United Kingdom Government before sending an assent to the immediate announcement of contemplated negotiations. I explained that clearly there could be no trade agreement unless the proposals contained in the United Kingdom Government’s memorandum of November fifth were made the basis of negotiations and the concessions there outlined improved, and that this would of course necessitate agreement on the part of the Dominions. I added, however, that the obtaining of the consent of the Dominions might come after the announcement of contemplated negotiations, i. e., during the course of the definitive negotiations.