CO129-491 - Public Offices - 1925 — Page 9

the United States. I invite your attention to Sir

Esmé Howard's note to your government of July 12th, 1924

and the semi-official communication which I had the

honour to address to your predecessor on February 17th

last.

4. Sofar the representations of His Majesty's

Government have not resulted in agreement to suspend

the activities to which His Majesty's Government must

take exception on principle. But the United States

Government have now proposed a new procedure (details of

which have been furnished to me unofficially by your

embassy) which they hope may lead His Majesty's Government

to modify their attitude.

5. I regret to inform you that a careful study

of the proposed new procedure has failed to remove the

objections felt by His Majesty's Government.

6. The proposal, if I have understood it correctly deals with two alternative contingencies: (1) the case

of His Majesty's Government granting general permission for the representatives of the Customs Division of the United States Treasury Department to enquire into the

cost of production of exporting British firms for pur- poses of appraisement; (2) the case of His Majesty's

Government declining to grant such permission.

7. In the first case the proposed procedure would

be as follows. The United States Customs representatives

would, when they deemed it necessary, approach the exporting firm with a request to investigate their costs of production. Should the exporting firm refuse, the

You would then make refusal would be reported to you.

representations