561.333D3/34: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Guatemala (Cabot)
55. Your 65, July 9, 5 p.m. Please seek an early interview with the President and explain to him that this Government has no comment to make with respect to the share of the coffee quota assigned to Guatemala or any other country under the ad referendum agreement reached by the Coffee Conference, and that the remarks attributed to Welles and Duggan constituted endorsement of the control plan in principle rather than the particular allocations provided for in the plan considered by the Conference. The position of this Government is based on a consideration of the interests of the coffee producing countries; naturally there is no intention of urging the producing countries to take any action contrary to their own interests.
However, this Government feels that a fair agreement among the coffee producing countries to control coffee shipments to the United States in order to bring about a more satisfactory price level for coffee would be of benefit to all the interested countries, and this Government would be prepared, if requested, to study the means of effective cooperation in the execution of such a plan.