355. Telegram From the Mission to the European Communities to the Department of State1
Brussels, November 6, 1967,
1807Z.
2687. Subject: EC Poultry Levies. Ref: State 63715.2
- 1.
- Mission today conveyed to responsible Commission officials strong U.S. objections to Community action on poultry along lines State 63715. We emphasized particularly likely Congressional reaction, regrettable pre-holiday timing, discriminatory violation of GATT Art. 1 and fact that this sort of action plays into hands of forces in U.S. who want to restrict imports into U.S.
- 2.
- We called on Deniau who took note of U.S. protest. We saw Jonder, Mansholt’s Chef de Cabinet, who appreciated serious political implications and promised to bring matter to Mansholt’s attention soonest. We also talked to Hijzen this morning before he left for Geneva. Hijzen’s answer was that EC had offered to mind these items in GATT but that U.S. has not been interested. We have requested appointments with Rabot and Mansholt and will follow up with Commission officials generally.
- 3.
- We did not bring matter directly to attention Council because Council did not take action to which we object. Management committee made recommendation to Commission which approved by written procedure.
- 4.
- Recommend Embassies in member states convey gist of State 63715 to host governments.
Vest
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, INCO–POULTRY EEC. Limited Official Use. Repeated to Bonn, The Hague, London, Luxembourg for USEC, Paris for USOECD, Rome, and Geneva for GATT.↩
- In telegram 63715 to Brussels, the Mission was instructed to make “urgent and strongest possible representation to Council” concerning its October 27 “announcement of increases in supplementary levies on chickens and chicken parts and introduction of supplementary levies on turkey parts,” and was given background on the issues and arguments to be made in presenting the U.S. demarche. (Ibid.)↩