611.3531/737: Telegram
The Chargé in Argentina (Tuck) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:17 p.m.]
30. Accompanied by Consul General Davis and Luis Fiore2 I called on Groppo, Minister of Finance, this morning. I went straight to the point and told him that during the visit to Buenos Aires of Fowler and Sappington3 a confidential memorandum had been prepared which in our opinion might form the basis for the negotiation of a trade agreement between Argentina and the United States. I said that the contents of this memorandum were known to the experts of the Ministry of Finance and that we had been led to believe that its provisions had aroused their sympathetic interest. I added that we were grateful for the facilities which had been afforded by the Government to Fowler and Sappington in forming their contacts and that an expression of his opinion of the memorandum would be appreciated. The Minister replied that he had familiarized himself with the contents of the memorandum and that it was his intention to instruct his experts to prepare a reply thereto. While at first he showed a tendency to speak with some heat of matters extraneous to the issue and to revert to their past grievances, he ultimately declared that he was a realist in the matter and was prepared to give thoughtful consideration to practical issues.
He declared to begin with that he recognized the need for a trade agreement, spoke disparagingly of Argentina’s trade relations with Germany, intimating that while the Germans were promising big things at present, we could never tell what the future held in store. Furthermore that in his opinion the two countries to which Argentina should look for the betterment of its economic situation were Great [Page 228] Britain and the United States. At this point Davis reminded him that the situation today with respect to trade relations between the United States and Great Britain differed materially from that of 1933. To this the Minister expressed lively agreement and added he saw no insuperable obstacle in the way but on the contrary, given the possibility of tariff concessions, including canned meat, he saw no reason why an agreement on the basis of the memorandum should not be possible.
In conclusion he said that he would consult with Louro4 and Prebisch5 and that he would then arrange another meeting with us at an early date probably on Tuesday or Wednesday next.
- Prominent Argentine businessman who frequently acted as an adviser to the Minister of Finance.↩
- By instructions of November 29, 1938, William A. Fowler, Assistant Chief of the Division of Trade Agreements, and James C. Sappington III, of the same Division, were directed to proceed to Buenos Aires and Montevideo to discuss trade relations with officials in those capitals (611.3531/692b and /692a).↩
- Alfredo Louro, Chief of Argentine Exchange Control Board.↩
- Raul Prebisch, General Manager, Central Bank of Argentina.↩