Evening star., 1934-08-26
LATIN AMERICAN
) TREATIES SPEEDED
State Department Prepares
for Negotiations With
Coffee Countries.
BY the Associated Press.

chinery. having opened up on Cubar
sugar, worked yesterday on a dozer
Pacts with the Latin American ma
tons that fill this country's coffee
cups
Henry c. Grady, chief Of the State
Departments tariff section, speedee
up the preliminary detail studies
necessary to active negotiations with
Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Equa-
dor, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua
Panama, El Salvador, Venezuela and
the Dominican Republic. Together
they supply 95 per cent Of this coun-
try's coffee imports.
Another signal for the acceleratior
of treaty making, all designed to re-
vive foreign trade through Yankee
trading system, was seen in figures
from the Commerce Department show
ing more than a seasonal decline IN
American foreign trade during July
Text Of Treaty Released.
The State Department, meanwhile
tonight made public the complete text
of the new agreement consummated
Friday with Cuba. 1t showed long
list of American products which have
received preferentials or lower duties
in Cuba. These were taken to indi-
cate what rates will be sought from
the other Latin American nations
which, generally, import much the
same American commodities as Cuba
Proclamation of the Cuban treaty
met a varied reaction in farm and
politica circles. One organization
protested to the President against
letting down the tariff bars on Gu
ban rum while in other quarters, II
wcs said, the agreement made a
Straight annual gift to Cuba of many
millions of dollars through cutting
the duty on Cuban sugar by SO per
cent.
Senator Fletcher of Florida, an ad-
ministration stalwart, declared the
agreement seemed to be quite a rea-
scnable and fair one.
An exactly opposite opinion came
from George S. Fletcher, president
of the Florida Agricultural Tariff
Association. He asserted in a state
ment that no hurricane that ever
swept across the Southern States
from the trouble breeding tropics has
hit Florida as hard as this new
treaty"
Opposes Winter Season Plan.
He objected particularly to the so
per cent lowering Of duties during the
Winter season on Cuban fruits and
vegetables. and said this threatened
the ruin of the Winter growing in
duStry In Florida, Texas and CAL
ifornia.
Senator Fletcher owns a 140-acre
grapefruit grove and Is acres of
avocados in Florida, and he told
newspaper men he did not feel he
would be injured by the treaty, with
the "off f-season" arrangement of its
reduced duties.
Washington representatives Of Cal
tfornia avocado growers said the
agreement with Cuba would not fur
nish the relief American growers
desired.
Fletcher of the Florida Tariff As
sociation, in his statement to the
press. called upon the next Congress
to repeal the extraordinary and
dangerous power" granted the Presi-
dent to arrange reciprocal trade
agreements.
The National Automobile Chamber
of Commerce in a telegram to Sec
retary Hull congratulated him on the
treaty as "the first concrete move
rI IrnHInn I.ne
for international trade and pros
perity." Cuba made deep cut in its
tariff on automobiles.
Negotiations to Be Pushed.
State Department officials declined
to specify which nations in the Carib-
bean group would be first on the new
treaty list, explaining that prelim-
mary discussion still under way would
determine the numerical order of
trade negotiations.
The negotiations, it was disclosed,
probably will be carried on simulta-
neously, if possible, so as to encom-
pass the entire subject of coffee i'm
ports in a closely correlated series
of trade pacts.
oIdLA oupPAACo app OAA4AldVCAy bWO-
thirds of the coffee consumed in the
United States and it is understood
the tariff negotiators will concen-
trate on a reciprocal trade accord
with that nation as soon as possible
Sugar, which was by far the most
important product dealt with in the
Cuban agreement, is also produced ir
the Caribbean countries. The new
agreements, when completed, will
practically eliminate sugar from fu-
ture negotiations with other coun-
tries.
In addition to coffee and sugar, the
Latin American nations produce and
export bananas, rice, cacao, vegetable
ivory, rubber. kapok, hardwoods, goat
skins, chromium ore, logwood, COCO
nuts and henequen, and it is assumed
they will seek favorable treatment
for those products in the new agree
ments.
Buy American Foodstuffs.
All of the coffee producing nations
involved are, like Cuba, important
customers for American foodstuffs
such as lard, cotton manufactures
iron and steel, corn, machinery and
tools, electrical goods, chemicals
flour, gasoline, leather, hosiery, auto
mobiles hardware, cement and other
agricultural and manufactured goods
State Department officials were
careful to explain that the agreement
with Cuba was not a model fol
agreements with the Latin American
nations or any other country Geo.
graphical propinquity and historica
considerations. it was explained. have
created especially close economic re-
lationships between the United State:
and Cuba that do not exist elsewhere
The reciprocal agreement with
Cuba is designated as exclusive" anc
the United States has no such agree
ment with any other country. TIL,
mutual concessions granted-deSpit'
the most favored nation treaties will
other nations-do not extend to othel
nations as in the case of the Cuban
agreement.
SPlDER.SC0RPI0N FIGHT