611.60F31/6–2945
The Department of State to
the Czechoslovak Embassy
Aide-Mémoire
Reference is made to informal discussions which have been held relative
to the most appropriate means of reestablishing a conventional basis for
the trade relations between our two countries, and to the note of June
14, 1945 from the Acting Secretary of State to the Czechoslovak
Ambassador proposing that notes be exchanged establishing a regime of
general most-favored-nation treatment pending the conclusion of a treaty
of Friendship and Commerce or a new Trade Agreement.
Attached is the draft of a note providing for such treatment, which this
Government would be prepared to exchange for a note from the
Czechoslovak Government agreeing to the general most-favored-nation
treatment proposed therein.
Attention is directed to the agreement in respect of exposed motion
picture films which was effected by exchange of notes on May 18,
1938.94 This
Government would be pleased to learn the views of the Czechoslovak
Government with respect to the relation between that exchange of notes
and the proposed most-favored-nation agreement now under
consideration.
Washington
, June 29,
1945.
[Enclosure]
Draft of Note From the Secretary of State to the Czechoslovak
Ambassador (Hurban)
Excellency: I have the honor to make the
following statement of my Government’s understanding of the
agreement reached through [Page 544]
recent conversations held at Washington by representatives of the
Government of the United States of America and the Government of the
Czechoslovak Republic with reference to the treatment which the
United States of America will accord to the commerce of
Czechoslovakia and which Czechoslovakia will accord to the commerce
of the United States of America. These two Governments, recognizing
that the trade agreement of March 7, 1938, including the
accompanying protocol, and the protocol of amendment to that trade
agreement, dated April 15, 1938, should no longer be considered as
remaining in force between the two parties, and desiring to reaffirm
their adherence to a program of purposes and policies, open to
participation by all other countries of like mind, designed to bring
about an expansion of international trade on a broad basis and
directed to the elimination of all forms of discriminatory treatment
in international commerce, and to maintain the most-favored-nation
principle in its unconditional and unlimited form as the basis of
their commercial relations, agree to the following provisions:
- 1.
- In all matters relating to (a)
customs duties and subsidiary charges of every kind imposed
on imports or exports and the method of levying such duties
and charges, (b) the rules,
formalities, and charges imposed in connection with the
clearing of articles through the customs, and (c) the taxation, sale, distribution
or use within the country of imported articles and of
articles intended for exportation, each Party shall accord
unconditional and unrestricted most-favored-nation treatment
to articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the other
Party, from whatever place arriving, or to articles destined
for exportation to the territories of such other Party, by
whatever route.
- 2.
- No prohibition or restriction of any kind shall be imposed
by either Party on the importation, sale, distribution or
use of any article the growth, produce or manufacture of the
other Party, or on the exportation of any article destined
for the territories of the other Party, unless the
importation, sale, distribution or use of the like article
the growth, produce or manufacture of all third countries,
or the exportation of the like article to all third
countries, respectively, is similarly prohibited or
restricted.
- 3.
- If the Government of either Party imposes any quantitative
regulation on the importation or exportation of any article,
or on the sale, distribution, or use of any imported
article, it shall as a general rule give public notice of
the total quantity or value of such article permitted to be
imported, exported, sold, distributed or used during a
specified period, and of any change in such quantity or
value. Furthermore, if either Party allots to any third
country a share of such total quantity or value of any
article in which the other Party has an important interest,
it shall as a general rule allot to such other Party a share
of such total quantity or value based upon the proportion of
the total quantity or value supplied by, or in the case of
exports a share based upon the proportion exported to, the
territories of such other Party during a previous
representative period, account being [Page 545] taken in so far as practicable of any
special factors which may have affected or may be affecting
the trade in that article. The provisions of this paragraph
relating to imported articles shall also apply in respect of
the quantity or value of any article permitted to be
imported free of duty or tax, or at a lower rate of duty or
tax than the rate of duty or tax imposed on imports in
excess of such quantity or value.
- 4.
- Articles the growth, produce or manufacture of either
Party, imported into the territories of the other Party,
shall be accorded treatment with respect to all matters
affecting internal taxation or the sale, distribution or use
within such territories, no less favorable than the
treatment which is or may hereafter be accorded to like
articles of national origin.
- 5.
- If the Government of either Party establishes or maintains
any form of control of the means of international payment,
it shall accord unconditional most-favored-nation treatment
to the commerce of the other Party with respect to all
aspects of such control. The Government establishing or
maintaining such control shall impose no prohibition,
restriction or delay on the transfer of payment for any
article the growth, produce or manufacture of the other
Party which is not imposed on the transfer of payment for
the like article the growth, produce or manufacture of any
third country. With respect to rates of exchange and with
respect to taxes or charges on ex-manufacture of the other
Party shall be accorded unconditionally treatment no less
favorable than the treatment which is or may hereafter be
accorded to like articles the growth, produce or manufacture
of any third country. The provisions of this paragraph shall
also extend to the application of such control to payments
necessary for or incidental to the importation of articles
the growth, produce or manufacture of the other Party. In
general, any such control shall be administered so as not to
influence to the disadvantage of the other Party the
competitive relationships between articles the growth,
produce or manufacture of such other Party and like articles
the growth, produce or manufacture of any third
country.
- 6.
- If the Government of either Party establishes or maintains
a monopoly or other agency for the importation, exportation,
purchase, sale, distribution or production of any article,
or grants exclusive privileges to any agency to import,
export, purchase, sell, distribute or produce any article,
such monopoly or agency shall accord to the commerce of the
other Party fair and equitable treatment in respect of its
purchases of articles the growth, produce or manufacture of
foreign countries and its sales of articles destined for
foreign countries. To this end the monoply or agency shall,
in making such purchases or sales of any article, be
influenced solely by considerations, such as price, quality,
marketability, transportation and terms of purchase or sale,
which would ordinarily be taken into account by a private
commercial enterprise interested solely in purchasing or
selling such article on the most favorable terms.
- 7.
- The Government of each Party, in the awarding of contracts
and in the purchasing of supplies, shall accord fair and
equitable treatment to the commerce of the other Party as
compared with the treatment which is or may hereafter be
accorded to the commerce of any third country.
- 8.
- There shall be freedom of transit through the territories
of each Party by the routes most convenient for
international transit for articles directly or indirectly
coming from or going to the territories of the other Party.
Such articles in transit shall not be subject to any transit
duty, to any unnecessary delays or restrictions, or to any
discrimination in respect of charges, facilities or any
other matter; and all charges and regulations prescribed in
respect of such articles shall be reasonable, having regard
to the conditions of the traffic. Except as may now or
hereafter be agreed by the Parties with respect to nonstop
flight by aircraft, the Government of either Party may
require that such articles be entered at the proper
customhouse and that they be kept in customs custody,
whether or not under bond; but such articles shall be exempt
from all customs duties or similar charges if such
requirements for entry and retention in customs custody are
complied with and if they are exported within one year and
satisfactory evidence of such exportation is presented to
the customs authorities. Such articles shall be accorded
treatment with respect to all charges, rules and formalities
in connection with transit no less favorable than the
treatment which is or may hereafter be accorded to like
articles coming from or going to the territories of any
third country.
- 9.
- The provisions of this Agreement according
most-favored-nation treatment shall not apply to (a)
advantages which are or may hereafter be accorded to
adjacent countries in order to facilitate frontier traffic,
or (b) advantages accorded by virtue
of a customs union of which either Party may become a member
so long as such advantages are not extended to any country
which is not a member of such customs union. The advantages
now accorded or which may hereafter be accorded by the
United States of America, its territories or possessions or
the Panama Canal Zone to one another or to the Republic of
Cuba shall be excepted from the operation of this agreement.
The provisions of this paragraph shall continue to apply in
respect of any advantages which are or may hereafter be
accorded by the United States of America, its territories or
possessions or the Panama Canal Zone to one another,
irrespective of any change which may take place in the
political status of any of the territories or possessions of
the United States of America.
- 10.
- Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent
the adoption or enforcement by either Party of measures (a) relating to the importation or
exportation of gold or silver, (b)
relating to the traffic in arms, ammunition, and implements
of war, and, in exceptional circumstances, all other
military supplies, (c) necessary in
pursuance of obligations for the maintenance of
international peace and security, or necessary for the
protection of the essential interests of such Party in time
of national emergency, or (d) to give
effect to Article VII of the International Monetary Fund
Agreement95 drawn up at the United Nations
Monetary and Financial Conference at Bretton Woods, July 1
to 22, 1944.96 Subject to the requirement that, under like
circumstances and conditions, there shall be no arbitrary
[Page 547] discrimination
by either Party against the other Party or against the
commerce thereof in favor of any third country or the
commerce thereof, the provisions of this Agreement shall not
extend to prohibitions or restrictions (a) imposed on moral or humanitarian grounds, (b) designed to protect human, animal,
or plant life or health, (c) relating
to prison-made goods, or (d) relating
to the enforcement of police or revenue laws.
- 11.
- The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to all
territory under the sovereignty or authority of either of
the Parties, except the Panama Canal Zone.
- 12.
- This Agreement shall remain in force until superseded by a
trade agreement or by a treaty of friendship, commerce and
navigation, or until thirty days from the date on which
written notice of termination shall have been given by
either Party to the other Party.
If the above provisions are acceptable to the Government of the
Czechoslovak Republic, this note and the reply signifying assent
thereto shall, if agreeable to that Government, be regarded as
constituting an agreement between the two Governments which shall
become effective fifteen days after the date of such acceptance.
Please accept [etc.]
