Office of the Historian

711.94/1745a: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)

Washington, October 8, 1940—6 p.m.

383. The Japanese Ambassador called this morning on the Secretary of State62 and delivered a formal note63 protesting against the regulations dated September 30, 1940, governing the exportation of iron and steel scrap.64 It is stated in the note that the restrictions effected by the regulations constitute a “virtual embargo”, that they are discriminatory, and that they “cannot fail to be regarded as directed against Japan, and, as such, to be an unfriendly act.” The note was accompanied by an informal document65 in which it is stated that the progressive application of restrictions against Japanese trade may cause future relations between the United States and Japan to become “unpredictable”.

The Secretary informed the Japanese Ambassador that he would in due course examine the papers and that he would reply in writing if he felt that any such reply were called for.66 He also made observations as follows:

(a)
As had been previously explained, the restrictions placed upon the exportation of steel and iron scrap were regarded as measures of national defense by the duly constituted agencies of the American Government, and the question whether or not the imposing of the restrictions could be considered as a national defense measure was one which this Government alone was competent to decide.
(b)
It is amazing that any Government with a record such as that of the Japanese Government of injuring and disregarding property and other rights of American citizens in China should see fit to make any complaint to this Government on the basis of alleged discrimination. In view of the patience and moderation displayed by this Government in the face of constant and repeated Japanese depredations against American rights and interests in the Far East, the Japanese Government was in no position to characterize a national defense measure as an unfriendly act.

Hull
  1. For memorandum of conversation, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. ii, p. 225.↩
  2. Dated October 7, ibid., p. 223.↩
  3. Ibid.↩
  4. Ibid., p. 224.↩
  5. For reply dated October 23, see ibid., p. 229.↩