824.154/8–3144
The Bolivian Chargé (Dorado) to the Secretary of State
Excellency: I have the honor to request the good offices of the Department of State in obtaining the necessary priority ratings and export licenses for equipment and materials needed by the Bolivian [Page 538] Development Corporation as per letter addressed by its Manager, Mr. Roland Egger, to the Foreign Economic Administration on August 23, 1944.
The Corporation mentioned in the preceding paragraph,—as Your Excellency is well aware—, was established as the result of negotiations between our two Governments, for the purpose of carrying out a “long term plan of collaboration to foster the continued mutually beneficial economic relations between the United States and Bolivia, and to develop the national economy and natural resources of Bolivia”.63
One of the principal schemes being undertaken by the Corporation in accordance with the purposes mentioned above is the Cochabamba–Santa Cruz highway, the economic as well as political importance of which has often been emphasized. Some equipment and materials for this highway were obtained already under Special Project License No. 814; however, following the completion of a substantial portion of the studies of the highway, the Corporation has prepared a list of additional equipment essential for its construction. The political developments which followed the Bolivian Revolution of December of 1943 prevented, however, the export of this additional equipment. The unfortunate delay incurred together with the scarcity of certain of the materials authorized for export under Special Project No. 814, has made it necessary to increase the originally planned rate of progress so as to compensate for the time lost. This increased rate requires a greater mechanization of the work to be undertaken.
The importance of the highway to which I have made reference compels me Your Excellency, to bother your attention with these matters and to request the good offices of the Department of State in the procurement of the necessary export licenses and priority ratings for the materials that will enable the Corporation to accomplish its task.
Accept, Excellency [etc.]
- For the complete text of the document from which this quotation was taken, see telegram 127, August 1, 1941, 3 p.m., to La Paz, Foreign Relations, 1941, vol. vi, p. 435.↩