841D.01/277d: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
1918. We should appreciate information regarding any further measures contemplated by the British Government in relation to Ireland.
We believe that for our part we should endeavor to keep the matter open, without revealing to the Irish Government whether further action may be contemplated by the American Government. We are now considering sending a further message to de Valera reaffirming the position taken in our original approach and stating that the Irish Government will inevitably be held responsible by the American Government and the American people for actions of Axis representatives in Ireland against American forces and American military operations.
Mr. Gray has just reported that “all classes of Irish opinion fear economic or military sanctions by the United States and Britain.” [Page 237] Mr. Gray believes it to be of utmost importance to allay these fears which result in resentment against the American people. He suggests that he be authorized to announce in Dublin that the American Government had no desire or intention to institute economic or military reprisals and that the American Government is releasing certain supplies of steel, copper and aluminum to the Irish Sugar Company, the export of which has previously been refused. Mr. Gray states that the British Representative in Dublin joins in this recommendation.
I have previously informed Mr. Gray that the supply situation on some of the items needed by the Irish Sugar Company might not be so difficult as two years ago when their export was denied and that if Mr. Gray is convinced that these supplies are necessary for the manufacture of the 1944 sugar crop and ought to be released by us, I am willing to make a favorable recommendation to the Foreign Economic Administration. However, I am inclined to believe that for the time being at least, we should not make any statement to the press or commit ourselves to the Irish Government that we have no intention of instituting economic sanctions. While we do not believe that economic sanctions against Ireland are advisable, this question would rest primarily with the British Government since Britain is the primary supplier of Irish requirements.
Please telegraph us the British Government’s views on this whole matter as it now stands.
Repeated to Dublin.