822.24/500
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Ecuador (Nester)
The Secretary of State refers to the Embassy’s despatch no. 4314 of March 26, 1943 and to the Department’s circular instruction of April 15, 1943,96 entitled “Projects Under Decentralization”.
It is fully appreciated that the relation of projects to the entire decentralization procedure has been a, cause of concern to the officials of the Ecuadoran Government. The problem of having the bills of materials for all projects screened by the Embassy and the Country Agency was given serious consideration by the various interested agencies of this Government. It was finally decided that, in the case of projects directly related to the war effort and sponsored by an agency of the United States, such as the Office of Imports or the Petroleum Administrator for War, it would be impractical to have the bills of materials reviewed in the field. The necessity for such projects must be determined in Washington in the light of broader information and policy than can be available to the Embassy or the local government. Moreover, since these projects are initiated in Washington, costly delay would be involved in reference to the field. In the past, applicants for all SP97 licenses have been directed to present a copy of their application to the Embassy for its information. In the future, this copy will instead be transmitted by the Board of Economic Warfare to the Embassy. The license will, however, be issued without awaiting the Embassy’s comments. The comments of the Embassy and the local Office of Priorities and Distribution of Imports can be forwarded to Washington as recommendations for the consideration of the interested agencies in issuance of licenses for subsequent quarters.
On non-war projects which are initiated after the effective date of the decentralization program, an Import Recommendation will be [Page 207] required as stated in the Department’s instruction under reference. The Embassy and the local Office of Priorities and Distribution of Imports will therefore have full opportunity to screen such projects and determine essentiality.