835.01/7–2844: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
6091. In your 6025, July 28, 9 p.m. you refer to Eden’s intention to work out a program in relation to the Argentine. Although we fully appreciate British concern with meat purchases we trust that the negotiations can be so handled as to reinforce our political position. Unless they are so handled, the apparent divergence in our positions may be seriously accentuated. By prolonging the negotiations and by taking a firm stand on price and other terms of the contract the occasion of the purchase can unquestionably be utilized to strengthen our common political stand. Furthermore, we feel that it is imperative that the meat purchase should be treated as an isolated commercial transaction dictated by special war needs and therefore entirely separate from fundamental political and economic policies.
We propose to stop purchases of all Argentine products except those which are absolutely essential for the war effort. It is estimated that we can thus reduce the present level of our purchases by from 40% to 65%, or roughly a reduction ranging from $90,000,000 to $140,000,000 per year without prejudice to the war effort. In order to be effective this reduction of purchases must be correlated with parallel British action.
Please see the Foreign Minister as soon as possible and discuss with him, along the lines suggested above, both the matter of the meat contract negotiations and the possibility of parallel British action to reduce purchases of non-essential Argentine products.