840.51 Frozen Credits/7047
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Bolivia (Boal)
The Secretary of State refers to the Department’s instruction no. 162 of July 28, 1942 concerning the ineffectiveness of Bolivian control of certain firms in Bolivia whose activities are inimical to the defense of the American republics.
[Page 625]This matter was recently discussed further at a meeting in which the Bolivian Ministers of Finance and National Economy,18 the Bolivian Ambassador at Washington,19 and officers of the Department participated. It was agreed at the meeting that the Bolivian Ministers of Finance and National Economy would meet with the managers of certain large Bolivian commercial organizations soon after the return to La Paz of the Ministers, to determine the financial requirements for a program in which these Bolivian commercial organizations would open branches in areas of Bolivia now served in large part by commercial organizations which are included on the Proclaimed List of Certain Blocked Nationals.
The Bolivian Ministers of Finance and National Economy stated that, as soon as information might be available as a result of such a meeting with the managers of Bolivian commercial organizations, they would inform the American Embassy at La Paz so that the Embassy could inform the Department of State concerning the amounts of credits which the Export-Import Bank of Washington might be requested to provide for the expansion of the Bolivian commercial organizations.
The Bolivian Minister of Finance also stated that he would arrange for the introduction of appropriate legislation at the present session of the Bolivian Congress which would provide the Bolivian Government with authority to expropriate Axis property in Bolivia. The Bolivian Ministers of Finance and National Economy likewise stated that, as soon as the Bolivian commercial organizations should be in a position to provide the necessary commercial services in the areas now served by organizations on the Proclaimed List, drastic action would be taken to curtail the activities of such organizations on the Proclaimed List. It was mentioned that one such measure would be the refusal to such organizations of exchange necessary for payments for imported merchandise.