825.6363/332: Airgram
The Ambassador in Chile (Bowers) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 10—2 p.m.]
A−592. Supply of fuel oil for the production of nitrate destined to Argentina.
Reference is made to the Department’s A−752 of April 24, 7 p.m.57 On March 10 a letter was addressed to the Director of Petroleum Supplies on this subject, to which no reply has as yet been received. The matter was also mentioned on at least two occasions to the Minister of Economy and Commerce58 who smiled and rhetorically asked if this was a form of pressure on Argentina. He was non-committal and said the matter was being studied.
The Economic Counselor will again take up the matter with the Director of Petroleum Supplies. He was unable to do so today owing to the holiday.
The Department will realize that owing to the contiguity of the Argentine and Chile there is hesitance on the part of the Chileans to take any action against the Argentine which might be considered as pressure. The commercial relationships between the two countries are considered by the two countries somewhat the same as those between Canada and the United States. At present Chile is dependent on the Argentine for food supplies. As an example, Chile is importing from Argentina 200 head of beef cattle daily.