811.20 Defense (M) Spain/1275: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Spain (Hayes)
764. Your 938, March 16.78 We do not understand your statement to the effect that parts of our 515, February 24, are at variance with each other. That telegram outlined the British interpretation of Jordana’s 6 months’ proposal which was that beginning from the date an agreement was reached no wolfram would be exported to Germany for 6 months. Such a proposition was acceptable to us and you were so informed. However before despatching our telegram (515) Jordana’s 10 percent formula proposal was received. A further paragraph was added to our telegram saying the 10 percent formula was acceptable provided it meant in practice no further exports of wolfram. The 6 months’ proposal and the 10 percent formula were two separate suggestions by Jordana. Our 515 left it open to you to negotiate on the basis of either one or the other. The British here and we were and still are agreeable to either formula. We will still accept either proposal.
As indicated in our 730, March 16, we see no useful purpose in going on with the commission which the Spanish are setting up. We [Page 367] are not prepared to recede from our proposal that there be no further wolfram exports to Germany.
Proposals with regard to our overall approach to our economic relations with Spain are now being formulated and instructions with regard to them should reach you early next week.
Sent to Madrid, repeated to London and Lisbon.
- Not printed.↩