HUMANITARIAN

OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS

CONVENTION FOR LIMITING THE MANUFACTURE AND REGULATING THE DISTRIBUTION OF NARCOTIC DRUGS 1

Chile

The Secretary General of the League of Nations informed the Secretary of State by a circular letter dated December 4, 1933, that the instrument of ratification by Chile of the protocol of signature of the convention for limiting the manufacture and regulating the distribution of narcotic drugs, signed at Geneva July 13, 1931, was deposited with the Secretariat on November 20, 1933.

Colombia

The American Legation at Bogotá informed the Department by a despatch dated November 7, 1933, that the adherence of Colombia to the convention for limiting the manufacture and regulating the distribution of narcotic drugs, signed at Geneva July 13, 1931, was approved by Law No. 18 of October 23, 1933, which was published in the Diario Oficial of October 28, 1933.

Costa Rica

The American Legation at San José transmitted to the Department with a despatch dated December 6, 1933, a copy of La GacetaDiario Oficial, no. 278 of December 6, 1933, which publishes the Executive Decree No. 14 of December 4, 1933, ratifying the convention for limiting the manufacture and regulating the distribution of narcotic drugs, signed at Geneva July 13, 1931.

Venezuela

The Secretary General of the League of Nations informed the Secretary of State by a communication dated November 23, 1933, of the deposit of the ratification by Venezuela of the convention for limiting the manufacture and regulating the distribution of narcotic drugs, signed at Geneva July 13, 1931, with the Secretariat on November 15, 1933.

See Bulletin No. 46, July 1933, p. 6.

31595-34

ECONOMIC

COMMERCE

TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND COLOMBIA

The following joint statement was issued on December 15, 1933, by the Acting Secretary of State and the Colombian Minister at Washington:

"The Acting Secretary of State and the Minister of Colombia today signed a reciprocal trade agreement. The agreement will come into force after the necessary legislative action shall have been taken in the United States and Colombia. The minimum term of the agreement is two years from the date of its coming into force.

"On the part of the United States the agreement provides that certain specified products of Colombia shall continue to be exempt from import duties, federal excise taxes and prohibitions on importation, and also that state excise taxes affecting interstate or foreign commerce, in so far as they are subject to statutory control by the Federal Government, shall not exceed the maximum tax at present levied by any State.

"The agreement provides that Colombia on its part will reduce its customs duties on specified products from the United States and will refrain from increasing them on certain other specified products. As regards the products listed in the agreement Colombia makes commitments with respect to internal taxes and prohibitions similar to those made by the United States.

"This agreement, which is of mutual benefit to the two countries, furnishes a practical example of the policy of 'neighborliness' in the American continents, and it is hoped may lead to other bilateral agreements of a similar nature having as their object the restoration and improvement of trade relations."

PROPOSAL OF THE AMERICAN SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN STATES

The Secretary of State introduced on December 12, 1933, the following economic proposal before the Seventh International Conference of American States:

"Whereas the governments of the American republics, convened at the Seventh International Conference of American States,

"Are impressed with the disastrous effect of obstructions to international trade upon the full and stable business recovery of individual nations as well as upon general world prosperity; "Are desirous of abandoning economic conflict and of achieving some measure of economic disarmament;

"Are confident that through mutually profitable exchange of goods they themselves and the governments of the other nations of the world may reduce unemployment, increase domestic prices, and improve business conditions in their respective countries; and

Recognize that the existing high trade barriers can be effectively reduced only through simultaneous action by the nations of the world;

"Be it therefore resolved by the Seventh International Conference of American States, that the governments of the American republics shall promptly undertake to promote trade among their respective peoples and other nations and to reduce high trade barriers through the negotiation of comprehensive bilateral reciprocity treaties based upon mutual concessions; and

"Be it further resolved that the governments of the American republics do each subscribe, and call upon other governments of the world to subscribe, to the policy and undertaking, through simultaneous action of the principal nations, of gradually reducing tariffs and other barriers to mutually profitable movements of goods, services, and capital between nations, such policy and undertaking being in words and figures as follows:

"That at the earliest practicable date consistent with the exceptions and reservations herein, the subscribing governments, while not neglecting unilateral action, will simultaneously initiate between and among themselves negotiations for the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral agreements for the removal of prohibitions and restrictions and for the reduction of tariff rates to a moderate level. "The reservations and exceptions shall apply to the entire undertaking herein and shall expressly include the operation of temporary, emergency, or other extraordinary measures comprising domestic programs, primarily for national economic recovery, now or hereafter in operation in any country party to this undertaking.

"The object of this undertaking is to assert and maintain the broad economic policy of exploration, combining with any existing domestic program a suitable program of international economic cooperation as each nation emerges from serious panic conditions. "The subscribing governments undertake mostly that their aim. will be substantial reductions of basic trade barriers and liberalization of commercial policy as aforesaid and not merely the removal of temporary and abnormal restrictions and increments imposed for bargaining purposes. They will endeavor in so doing to direct their greatest efforts toward the elimination of those duties and restrictions which retard most severely the normal flow of international trade; for instance, duties or restrictions which completely or almost completely exclude international competition such as those which restrict the importation of particular commodities to less than 3 to 5 per centum of domestic consumption; also protective duties or restrictions which have been in effect for a considerable period of time without having brought about domestic production. equal to 15 per centum of the total domestic consumption thereof. "As a part of this undertaking they will revive and revise the convention of 1927 or agree upon a new convention for the abolition of import and export prohibitions and restrictions, together with

other general conventions having in view the removal of impediments to commerce, and endeavor to obtain for all such instruments acceptance as nearly universal as possible.

"The subscribing governments declare that the principle of equality of treatment stands and must continue to stand as the basis of all acceptable commercial policies. Accordingly they undertake that whatever agreements they enter into shall include the most-favorednation clause in its unconditional and unrestricted form to be applied to all types of control of international trade, limited only by such exceptions as may be commonly recognized as legitimate, and they undertake that such agreements shall not introduce features which, while possibly providing an immediate advantage for the contracting parties, might react disadvantageously upon world trade as a whole. "The subscribing governments declare further that the mostfavored-nation principle enjoins upon states making use of the quota system or other systems for limiting imports the application of these systems in such a way as to dislocate as little as possible the relative competitive positions naturally enjoyed by the various countries in supplying the articles affected.

"With a view to encouraging the development of unified and comprehensive multilateral treaties as a vitally important instrument of trade liberalization, the advantages of which treaties ought not to be open to countries which refuse to confer similar advantages, the subscribing governments declare and call upon all countries to declare, that they will not invoke their right to demand under the mostfavored-nation clause contained in bilateral treaties to which they may be parties any benefits of multilateral treaties which have as their general purpose the liberalization of international economic relations and which are open to the accession of all countries provided that such renunciation shall not operate insofar as the country entitled to most-favored-nation treatment in fact reciprocally accords the benefits which it seeks.

"For the purpose of carrying out the policy embraced in the foregoing undertaking the subscribing governments favor the establishment of a permanent international agency which shall closely observe the steps taken by each of them in effecting reductions of trade barriers and which shall upon request furnish information to them regarding the progress made by each in effectuating the aforesaid

program.

"In consideration of the premises the governments of the American republics earnestly call upon the appropriate agencies of the World Monetary and Economic Conference at London, now in recess, promptly to cooperate in bringing this proposal to a favorable conclusion."

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND ECONOMIC CONFERENCE

TARIFF TRUCE 1

The following notices of withdrawal from the tariff truce of May 12, 1933, have been received by this Government from the Secretary General of the League of Nations in circular letters as indicated:

Brazil (C.L.232.1933.II.B.)

"LONDON, November 27th, 1933.

"I have the honour to communicate to you the following:

"in view of the denunciation by several countries of the Agreement of May 12th, 1933, concerning a Customs Truce between the States represented on the Organising Committee of the Monetary and Economic Conference, to which Brazil had acceded:

"in view of the fact that the work of reforming the Customs tariff of Brazil has been interrupted as a result of the accession to the said Agreement;

"and considering the necessity of continuing that work; my Government has decided to resume its liberty of action and has instructed me to inform you that it will consider itself no longer bound by any of the obligations arising out of the said Agreement on the expiry of the prescribed time-limit of one month from the date of the present notice.

"I would request you to note this statement and to be so good as to communicate it to those whom it may concern."

China (C.L. 224.1933.II.B.)

GENEVA, November 15th, 1933. "The Permanent Office of the Chinese Delegation to the League of Nations presents its compliments to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations and has the honour to notify him hereby that the Chinese Government withdraws its adhesion to the Resolution relating to the Tariff Truce, which was adopted by the Committee of the Council for the Organisation of the Monetary and Economic Conference on May 12th, 1933.

"This Office also begs to request the Secretary-General to be good enough to transmit the contents of this letter to the President of the Monetary and Economic Conference."

Egypt (C.L.232.1933.II.B.)

"CAIRO, November 20th, 1933. "In its telegram of June 18th, 1933, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Secretariat of the League of Nations of the Egyptian Government's accession to the Resolution of the Committee of the Council for the Organisation of the Monetary and Economic Conference, of May 12th, 1933, relating to the Customs. Truce.

"The Egyptian Government, having noted that several States have denounced the said Truce, thereby defeating its object, considers itself justified in resuming its liberty of action and hereby denounces the Customs Truce, subject to one month's notice as provided for in the resolution of May 12th, 1933."

Finland (C.L.224.1933.II.B.)

"GENEVA, November 17th, 1933. "On the instructions of my Government, I have the honour to inform you as follows:

"In deciding in June last to accede to the Customs Truce proposed with a view to facilitating the work of the London Economic and