856D.6176/386: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham)
43. Department’s 34, February 5 and Embassy’s 50, February 8.20
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Insert the following new paragraph before the short paragraph which reads as follows “As a result of these developments the following conclusions have gained increasing support”.
“At the present time the American consumers of rubber find that despite the fact that they have remained out of the market for a protracted period in the hope that the market would assume a more normal aspect, they are faced with a situation wherein world stocks and their own stocks are continuing to decline and control of available supplies of rubber for the next few months is very largely in the hands of speculative interests which rely upon continued narrow restriction to assure a further marked increase in price. In fact, according to well-informed reports it is hardly too much to say that the restriction scheme at the present moment is operating to put consuming interests at the mercy of speculative interests, an outcome which it assumes to be as unwelcome to the British Government as to the American Government”.
Add as final paragraph:
“My Government furthermore believes that the existing situation merits immediate reexamination by the Government of the United Kingdom and by the British interests involved with a view to taking prompt action either in the way of providing enlarged future rubber quotas in a form that will effectively provide the market with larger supplies both for current consumption and for the restoration of world stocks to a more normal level, or through the issuance by the International Rubber Regulation Committee of a statement so conclusive in character as to convince the speculative interests that no great further rise in the price of rubber is possible in order that the rubber so controlled may become shortly available at reasonable prices and the speculative control of the situation be brought to an end.”
- Latter not printed.↩