811.20 (D) Regulations/5738: Telegram
The Ambassador in Spain (Weddell) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 25—10:05 a.m.]
108. Beaulac18 and Ackerman met with the Spanish Economic Committee last night at the latter’s request to discuss the memorandum transmitted with the Department’s 18 of January 8, 7 p.m. The results of the meeting were as follows: The Subsecretary for Foreign Affairs speaking for his Government and for the Committee accepted the principles set forth in the Department’s memorandum. He stated Cárdenas is being instructed to convey this acceptance to the Department.
The suggestion concerning joint Spanish, American and British cooperation in establishing the regulation of petroleum distribution within Spanish territory is agreed to. The Committee, fearful of establishing a precedent which might be utilized by the Germans, requests that only one person be named by us, that he be made a [Page 264] member of the Embassy staff and that he work as unobtrusively as possible.
For reasons which already have been explained (see Embassy’s despatch No. 1342, December 23, 194119) the precise information requested in the memorandum would [not?] be immediately available for the districts as municipal selling not yet attempted but complete cooperation will be given to the American petroleum expert in providing the orderly information he may desire. Meanwhile Spain will continue to supply to us and to the British complete information as possible.
Spain agrees likewise to supply significant quantities of the materials which the United States desires with the exception of tin of which Spain is a net importer.
In this connection it was pointed out that Germany has not given Spain guarantees that it will not molest Spanish ships carrying contraband to American countries. Under these circumstances the committee is not in a position to offer to ship in Spanish vessels such important strategic materials as mercury and wolfram and possibly zinc. However, they could be shipped via Great Britain in British vessels which currently trade with Spain under convoy. Other products in the Department’s list such as our cork, for example (the Motomar which has just sailed for New York carries 400 tons) can be carried in Spanish vessels as in the past.
The Committee made the following specific and urgent request:
An inventory of gas oil stocks in Spain taken on the night of January 23 indicates slightly over 5,000 cubic meters of gas oil measuring from the bottom of tanks (the non-usable residue at bottom is included in the measurement) as against a monthly consumption during the last 2 months of 1,700 cubic meters so the foregoing reduced as to curtail fishing operations to about a third of normal and to cripple other industries similarly. The entire fishing industry and many other industries are threatened with total paralyzation. Under the circumstances the Committee pleaded that the tankers Campilo and Campuzano which have been awaiting gas oil at Port Arthur since last November be granted export licenses immediately.
In return the Committee expressed a willingness to make available immediately any stock now prepared for shipment if the transportation problem can be solved and specifically offered 800 tons of cork to be shipped on Spanish vessels, 6,000 tons of zinc the transportation of which shall be subject to arrangement and a modest amount of mercury to be shipped via England.
In view of the complete agreement of the Spanish Government with the terms of our memorandum, in view of the very serious shortage of gas oil which would require the immediate departure of the [Page 265] tankers mentioned unless all activities dependent upon gas oil are to be obliged to shut down and in view of Spain’s willingness to facilitate the export of products we need at considerable risk to its vessels and to its relations with Germany I recommend urgently that export permits be issued for the two tankers as quickly as possible.
The Spanish Committee recommends very seriously that because of the possibility of complications with Germany over the shipment of supplies to the United States, communications on this subject be treated with the greatest confidence and that in particular specific materials not be mentioned in codes which may be accessible to the Germans.