INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS OTHER THAN TREATIES [61 STAT. The Acting Chairman of the United States Delegation to a Member of the French Delegation OCTOBER 30, 1947 DEAR MR. BARADUC: 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 53 tat. 2236. of 1936 between the United States and France inoperative so long as both the United States and France are parties to the General Agree- 61stat., Pts.and6. ment on Tariffs and Trade. Right of termina- As you know, Article XVII of the 1936 Agreement provides that it tion. 63 Stat. 2266. may be terminated by either party after three years on six months' notice. The inclusion of such a provision in all our trade agreements 48t sU.t.3 l3 is required by the Trade Agreements Act. Our lawyers have sug- 13M . gested that the very general terms of the proposed Supplementary Agreement might possibly be interpreted as making it impossible for either party to the 1936 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 63 stat. 2256. XVII of the 1936 Agreement at this late date would cause consider- able inconvenience 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 1936 Agreement given by either party while we were both parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade from effecting termina- 61 stat.,Pts.8and6. tion of the 1936 Agreement in six months. I would appreciate it if you could give me the assurance that your Government has the same understanding. Sincerely yours WINTHROP G. BROWN WINTHROP G. BROWN Acting Chairman Mr. PIERRE BARADUC The Delegation of France Palaisdes Nations 3718
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