Señor Dominguez to Mr. Olney.

No. 19.]

Sir: The undersigned, chargé d’affaires of the Argentine Republic, has the honor to respectfully call your excellency’s attention to the announcement that Congress has for its consideration a bill providing that there shall be levied a duty on all imported wools.

Your excellency is aware that immediately this country placed wool on the free list, by the act of August 27, 1894, the Argentine Republic responded by reducing the duties on certain American products, and the President of the United States acknowledged the fact in his annual message to Congress.

If, as it is apparent, the United States wishes to cultivate closer relations with the South American Republics, it would be greatly to be desired that this market should not be shut up to one of the chief products of the Argentine Republic.

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In order that there should not be any interruption in the good feelings now happily existing, and to avoid disturbing the commercial relations between the two countries, the undersigned ventures to ask your excellency whether it could not be suggested that in considering the bill the proposed duty should be made to apply only to countries other than South America.

The amount of wool imported from the countries of this continent is comparatively very small.

According to the official statistics of the United States, during the ten months ending in October last only 35,000,000 pounds of wool were imported from South America, while from the United Kingdom alone 85,000,000 came, besides 226,000,000 from other countries. (Finance, Commerce, and Navigation of the United States, October, 1895, p. 427.)

The memorial of the National Woolgrowers’ Association, recently presented to Congress, states on page 59 that “it was unjust (in the McKinley act) not to levy greater duties on unwashed Australian wools than on South American wools.”

It appears, therefore, that Congress would satisfy all the interests concerned by making the distinction which the undersigned has the honor to submit to your excellency’s consideration.

In this way the relations with a sister nation would not be affected, and the Argentine Republic would supply in a moderate degree the wants of this market, while the United States, taking advantage of the field opened to American manufacturers in that country, would continue to expand her exports, which, in the above referred to ten months, amounted to $4,038,452, a larger amount than the exports to any of the South American Republics except Brazil.

Hoping that your excellency will devote immediate attention to this urgent matter, the undersigned has the honor to renew, etc.,

Vicente J. Dominguez
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