611.5131/1858: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 19—7:49 a.m.]
779. Reference the Embassy’s telegram No. 677, April 7, 7 p.m.; and the Department’s telegram No. 253, April 11, 7 p.m.11 It is of further interest to the Department to know that yesterday an official of Commercial Accords informally indicated that if our Government is disposed to negotiate an agreement [supplementary] to our present [Page 486] trade agreement to continue the application for France of the duty concessions included in the trade agreement with Czechoslovakia (see paragraph 1 of the Embassy’s telegram 677, April 7, 7 p.m.) he believed that the French Government would be disposed to consider a request from our Government for counter concessions for enlarged supplementary quotas for items now listed in schedule 3 or for the inclusion therein of supplementary quotas for other items (in evidence?) including the possible transfer from quotas heretofore accorded by France to Czechoslovakia. This official volunteered the opinion that it would be practically impossible to grant in a supplementary agreement at this time reductions in duty rates but that it might be possible to obtain the removal of rice from schedule 1, section A.
- Neither printed.↩