59 STAT.] COLOMBIA-COMMERCIAL RELATIONS-APR. 17, 1945 provision for the purpose of claiming the benefit of the exclusive cus- toms tariff preferences granted by Colombia to Ecuador. In formulating this inquiry, I avail myself of the opportunity to reiterate to the Government of the United States, through the high intermediary of Your Excellency, the assurance that my Government is completely in accord with the principle of unconditional most- favored-nation treatment for the multilateral development of inter- national trade, and that it has very clearly in mind that the exception now proposed to said principle is limited to what is set forth in the aforementioned Resolution LXXX of Montevideo, as well as to the three following requirements of the Recommendation of the Inter- American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee: "That any such tariff preferences, in order to be an instrument for sound promotion of trade, should be made effective through trade agreements embodying tariff reductions or exemptions; "That the parties to such agreements should reserve the right to reduce or eliminate the customs duties on like imports from other countries; and "That any such regional tariff preferences should not be per- mitted to stand in the way of any broad program of economic recon- struction involving the reduction of tariffs and the scaling down or elimination of tariff and other trade preferences with a view to the fullest possible development of international trade on a multi- lateral unconditional most-favored-nation basis." I beg Your Excellency to accept the assurance of my highest and most distinguished consideration. ALBERTO LLERAS His Excellency JOHN C. WILEY, Ambassador Extraordinaryand Minister Plenipotentiaryof the United States of America. City. The American Ambassador to the Colombian MAinisterfor ForeignAffairs EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA No. 27 Bogotd, April 17, 1945. EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Your Excellency's note no. CM-415 of April 17, 1945, in which you mention the contractual formula for tariff preferences to contiguous countries contemplated in Resolution LXXX of the Seventh Inter-American Conference, s ipartmentio which was approved on December 24, 1933, and in the recommenda- 66 tion adopted by the Inter-American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee on September 18, 1941. In this connection you refer to 66347°-47-E'T. II- - -72 1817
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