560.AL/5–946: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Harriman)
us urgent
3850. For Hawkins from Brown. Deptel 3636, Apr 30. Canadians have expressed general concurrence with program outlined.69 They suggested addition shipping problems, i.e. discrimination and subsidies, to Preparatory Committee agenda and integration of work of cotton study groups and Wheat Committee with work of Preparatory Committee. Robertson expressed surprise Brit had not insisted inclusion shipping problems in conference agenda. I explained we [Page 1323] had left these matters for separate discussion as part of later over-all shipping conversations. Believe, however, Canadians will press this point.
Canadians also considering bilateral tariff negotiations with other nuclear countries in advance of nuclear negotiation but believe they will abandon this idea if we and others get request lists to them soon. They feel strongly that they do not want to receive requests for actual concessions until very shortly before March meeting. They would be embarrassed to receive these requests and feel it would be impossible to keep them confidential.
We hope advise French this week of change in program but are waiting for official Brit reaction.
Dutch advise they and Belgians will not have customs union rates until Nov or Dec and therefore cannot negotiate tariffs until early next year. [Brown.]
- A lengthy discussion at Ottawa on May 6 included on the Canadian side Mr. Norman Robertson, Under Secretary of State for External Affairs; Mr. Max Mckenzie, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce; Mr. Hector McKinnon, Chairman, Tariff Board, Mr. Sydney Pierce, Member of Economic Division, Department of External Affairs; Mr. David Sim, Deputy Minister of National Revenue; and Mr. Hubert Kemp, Director, Commercial Relations, Department of Trade and Commerce. Mr. Brown’s memorandum of this meeting, dated May 6, is found under File No. 560.AL/5–646.↩