611.6831/19
The Greek Chargé (Tsamados) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received March 1.]
Mr. Secretary of State: Pursuant to a decision arrived at by the Council of Ministers, the Hellenic Government, considering as [Page 711] terminated by the War the commercial conventions and other agreements by which it was bound to the enemy countries, has also decided generally to denounce the conventions of that character which establish the status of Hellenic economic relations with the Allied and neutral countries.
The decision is expressly aimed at the commercial treaties containing the most-favored-nation clause or tariff consolidations, as well as treaties and conventions relative to merchant shipping, customs regulations, commercial travelers’ rules, the exercise of trade and industry, and generally all agreements likely to hamper the enforcement of the new commercial, industrial, maritime or customs status, which Greece may choose to adopt.
The decision does not only deal with commercial conventions or customs conventions properly so-called. It also affects treaties of establishment and consular conventions concluded by the Royal Government, on account of the stipulations of an economic bearing therein contained.
In bringing the foregoing to Your Excellency’s knowledge, my Government directed me to inform you that Greece was moved to that course, not by a spirit of exclusiveness; it desires on the contrary to secure its freedom to adapt the regime of its foreign relations to the development it proposes to give to them in consonance with the new situations created by the war.
As, however, it would be impossible to replace these instruments at once, and in order to avoid any breach of continuity in the conventional relations existing between Greece and the United States of America, the Royal Government proposes to the Government of the United States to extend the life of those instruments until the day when peace is signed, and the clauses thereof being known, it will be in position to negotiate other conventions consistent with the desire of the Hellenic Government to promote its international relations.
Under those conditions it occurred to it that the convention contemplated in the present note (the term of previous notice therein provided having expired) might tacitly be extended for periods of three months.
I feel that I should add, for Your Excellency’s information, that the same proposition has been made by the Hellenic Government to the foreign governments with which it had signed agreements of the same nature.
I have the honor, therefore, by order of my Government, to notify Your Excellency, that the commercial treaty of December 10/22, 1837, the ratifications of which were exchanged in London on June 13/25, 1838, will no longer be in effect twelve months from the date [Page 712] of the present notice, which, as it is to produce its effect on March 1, 1920, will be given the date of March 1, 1919. Be pleased [etc.]
- Nos. 265 and 270 not printed.↩