328

Cranborne to Commonwealth Government

Cablegram 347 LONDON, 16 November 1943, 7.15 p.m.

IMMEDIATE MOST SECRET

Your telegram No. 281. [1]

As you know, we have been most reluctant to envisage reopening of bilateral negotiations at the present time since, in our view, much more comprehensive approach to the problem of Trade Barriers will be essential in the general interest. The need for this has been strongly urged upon United States Officials during recent discussions in Washington. Report by our Officials on these discussions is now in advance stage of preparation and will shortly be submitted to War Cabinet.

We hope, therefore, to be able to send you a full account in the near future [2] and, pending the receipt of this information, we earnestly hope that the Commonwealth Government will be willing not to press suggestion for renewal of bilateral negotiations until they have been able to review position as a whole in light of outcome of recent exchanges of view with United States Officials in field of commercial policy generally.

_

1 Document 318.

2 The Commonwealth Govt had already received a report on these discussions from Brigden. See Interdepartmental Committee on External Relations paper B57 of 29 October on file AA:A989, 43/735/58/1.

_

[AA:A989, 43/735/70/2]