611.60d31/165½
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs (Kelley)
The Finnish Minister called to say that he had received a telegram yesterday from his Government stating that it insisted on the omission of Article XIV [XVI] from the Trade Agreement under negotiation. The Minister said that his Government was opposed to this Article because the Article—and here the Minister read from the telegram—“is strictly against the principles of general commercial policy.” He said that the telegram also pointed out that this Article was considered unnecessary because there were so many other possibilities of terminating the Treaty.
I told the Minister that he was presenting the Department with a difficult problem, but that I would take the matter up at once with the competent officers and let him know as soon as possible whether we could agree to the omission of the Article or to its modification in some way which might be acceptable to the Finnish Government.