611.9131/172
The Iranian Legation to the Department of State
Memorandum
The Minister of Iran has given careful consideration to the contents of a Memorandum bearing the initials of the Honorable Mr. Cordell Hull, Secretary of State of the United States, which was handed to the Minister of Iran and the Chief of the Iranian Trade and Economic Commission on July 11, 1942, and which is on the subject of a proposed trade agreement between Iran and the United States.
In the above Memorandum the Department of State expresses the belief of the Government of the United States that the conclusion of a trade agreement between the two countries would be mutually beneficial and that the Government is prepared, on the basis of the recent informal discussions with the Iranian Trade and Economic Commission, to issue public notice of intention to negotiate such an agreement with Iran.
It is pointed out that the negotiations will be conducted on the basis of a draft of general provisions attached to the Memorandum as Enclosure No. 1, and that the concessions to be granted by each country will be worked out in the course of the actual negotiations.
[Here follows summary of the Department’s memorandum printed supra.]
The Minister of Iran taking cognizance of the above statements would like to express his wholehearted accordance on the point that the conclusion of a trade agreement between the two countries would be mutually beneficial. He therefore avails himself of the opportunity to state that the Government of Iran will be willing to conduct negotiations for the conclusion of such an agreement with the United States on the basis of the draft of general provisions enclosed with the above Memorandum, as well as the contents of the Memorandum itself, it being understood that these negotiations will be carried on between the two governments with a sincere spirit of reciprocal treatment and the desire of each government to respect the interests of the other. The Minister therefore would await with pleasure information as to the date of the issuing of the public notice of intention to negotiate, as required by the laws of the United States.
[Public notice of intention to negotiate a trade agreement was issued on July 29, 1942, Department of State Bulletin, August 1, 1942, page 665.]