611.3531/1483
Press Release Issued by the Department of State, January 8, 194043
Joint Statement by the Governments of the United States and Argentina
In the reciprocal trade negotiations between the Governments of the United States and Argentina, notwithstanding the efforts of both parties, it has not been found possible to reach a satisfactory basis to permit the conclusion of an agreement, and the two Governments have agreed to terminate them.
In effect the Argentine Government on the one hand has not been able to admit that concessions to be obtained from the United States for their typical regular export products to that country, such as linseed and canned beef, among others, should be restricted through the acceptance of a system of customs quotas which would tend to limit the possibility of expanding its shipments of said products to that country. At the same time it has not been possible to accede to the adoption of commitments considered incompatible with an adequate financial policy and of the defense of the currency.
On the other hand, the Government of the United States, in accordance with its policy as invariably applied in the 22 agreements already negotiated, of not exposing domestic producers to material injury in the process of promoting healthy international trade through reciprocal concessions, has felt obliged to insist on limitations of the kind referred to above with respect to certain commodities.
This divergence between the two Governments is recognized by both in the same frank and friendly spirit which has characterized the whole negotiations.
- On January 5, 1940, the Department issued a preliminary statement saying that trade agreement negotiations between the United States and Argentina had broken down and that an official statement by the two Governments would be issued early the next week.↩