C1 SI .T .] NET'IERLANDI)S--IECII'ROCAL TRADIE-OCT. 30, 1947 The Acting Chairman of the United States Delegation to the Acting Chairman of the Netherlands Delegation OCTOBER 30, 1947 DEAR DR. SPEEKIXIBRINSK: A point of legal detail has been brought to my attention in connec- tion with the Agreement Supplementary to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which we propose to sign on behalf of our two Governments on October 30 making the Reciprocal Trade Agreement of 1935 between the United States and the Netherlands inoperative so long as both the United States and the Netherlands are parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. As you know, Article XVII of the 1935 Agreement provides that it may be terminated by either party after three years on six months' notice. The inclusion of such a provision in all our trade agreements is required by the Trade Agreements Act. Our lawyers have sug- gested that the very general terms of the proposed Supplementary Agreement might possibly be interpreted as making it impossible for either party to the 1935 Agreement to exercise this right of termina- tion. 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 a formal amendment to the proposed Supplementary Agreement expressly excepting Article XVII of the 1935 Agreement at this late date would cause considerable in- convenience and would give greater emphasis to this point than it deserves. I am therefore writing to make it clear that we would be signing the Supplementary Agreement with the understanding that its general language would not prevent notice of termination of the 1935 Agreement given by either party while we were both parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade from effecting termination of the 1935 Agreement in six months. I would appreciate it if you could give me the assurance that your Government has the same understanding. Sincerely yours, 3723 50 Stat. 1504. 61 Stat., Pts. 5 and 6. Right of termina- tion. 50 Stat. 1524 . 61 Stat., Pts. 5 and 6. WINTHROP G. BROWN WINTHROP G. BBOWN Acting Chairman Dr. A. B. SPEEKENBRINK, Netherlands Delegation, Palaisdes Nations. The Acting Chairmanof the Netherlands Delegation to the Acting Chairmanof the UnitedStates Delegation NETHERANDS DELEGATION GENEVA, October 30th, 1947 I)EAR MR. BROWN, Referring to your letter of October 30, 1947, I have the honour to affirm that the contents thereof are agreeable to the Netherlands Gov- ernment. On behalf of my Government I can therefore assure you
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