611.836/13
The Secretary of State to the Egyptian Minister (Hassan)
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of September 25, 1942, in which you state that your Government has come to the conclusion that the terms of the agreement relating to the importation of long-staple cotton (cotton having a staple of one and one-eighth inches or more in length) will be detrimental to the Egyptian cotton trade with the United States and express the hope that a more equitable solution could be found by the competent authorities of this Government. In the memorandum accompanying the note it is stated that it would seem that the correctional measure for an equitable solution would be either a substantial increase in the global quota or its entire abolishment.
I have the honor to inform you that the contents of your note and accompanying memorandum are being submitted to the appropriate authorities of this Government for their consideration, and that full reply will be made as soon as their views are known.
With respect to your Government’s fear that the bulk of the quota will be filled by Peruvian cotton, it should be noted that large amounts of Egyptian cotton are required in the production of certain types of war equipment. Moreover, the shipping situation has tended to favor the importation of Egyptian cotton rather than Peruvian cotton, and both general imports and imports for consumption into the United States of Egyptian cotton have continued at a high rate since the effective date of the trade agreement with Peru.
Accept [etc.]