Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 61 Part 4.djvu/360

 61 STAT.] CUBA-RECIPROCAL TRADE-OCT. 30, 1947 The Acting Chairmanof the United States Delegation to the Chairmanof the Cuban Delegation GENEVA, October 30, 1947 DEAR MR. CLARK: 3705 A point of legal detail has been brought to my attention in connec- tion with the Exclusive Agreement Supplementary to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which we are signing today on behalf of our two Governments making inoperative, so long as both the United States and Cuba are parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Convention of Commercial Reciprocity between the Republic of Cuba and the United States of America signed Decem- ber 11, 1902, and the Reciprocal Trade Agreement between the Repub- 33 ta t .21 36 . lic of Cuba and the United States of America signed August 24, 1934, 49 stat. 359. with its accompanying exchange of notes, as amended by the supple- mentary trade agreement signed December 18, 1939, with its accom- 5 sta t -199 panying protocol and exchange of notes, and by the supplementary trade agreement signed December 23, 1941, with its accompanying stat. 1449. exchange of notes. As you know, Article XI of the Convention of Commercial Reci- tioRrht of termia- procity of 1902 provides that it may be terminated by either party on 33 tat. 2142. one year's notice, and Article XVII of the 1934 Trade Agreement, as 49 tat. 3s. amended, provides that it may be terminated by either party on six months' notice. With respect to the latter, the inclusion of such a provision in all our trade agreements is required by the Trade Agree- ments Act. Our lawyers have suggested that the very general terms 48 Stat. .3 19 U. S.C. 1351- of the Exclusive Supplementary Agreement might possibly be inter- 135-. preted as making it impossible for either party to the 1902 Conven- tion and to the 1934 Trade Agreement to exercise this right of ter- mination. It is, of course, improbable that either of our Governments would wish to exercise this right of termination, but under our law we must, nevertheless, retain it in force. To suggest, at this late date, a formal amendment to the Exclusive Supplementary Agreement expressly excepting the respective termination provisions would cause consider- able inconvenience and would give greater emphasis to this point than it deserves. I am therefore writing to make it clear that we are sign- ing the Exclusive Supplementary Agreement with the understanding that its general language would not prevent notice of termination of the 1902 Convention and of the 1934 Trade Agreement, given by 33 tat. 36. 49 Stat. 3M9. either party while we were both parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, from effecting termination of the 1902 Convention Stat.,Pt. 5and6. and of the 1934 Trade Agreement in one year and six months, respec- tively.

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