Letter from William P. Fay to G. P. Sarsfield Hogan (Dublin)
(348/11A) (Copy)

At some recent meetings of the Foreign Trade Committee the question of trade with Czechoslovakia has been considered and in view of the discussion which took place (in particular, the indications which Jordan¹ gave of the views of your Minister on the subject) I undertook to consult my Minister. I have now had an opportunity of doing so and I am writing to let you know his views on the matter.

The Minister agrees with your Minister in thinking that trade with Communist countries should, in general, be discouraged. A fundamental principle of our foreign policy is to preserve our good relations with the United States and, in the Minister’s view, we should be careful to avoid anything which might led to friction. The Minister does not think that there is any possibility of developing trade with Czechoslovakia which would outweigh the disadvantage of the unfavourable reactions it might have in the United States. In general he feels that our purchases from Communist countries should be confined to goods which are literally indispensable in the sense that we could not get them elsewhere; he would not be disposed to regard as indispensable goods, which, even though of an essential nature, can be obtained from other countries.

The foregoing principles clearly rule out any proposals of the nature sponsored by Messrs. Ticher Ltd.² for a compensation trade whereby Irish textiles would be exchanged for Czechoslovak fancy goods. They also rule out any question of granting currency for purchases of drainage pipes as suggested by the Czechoslovak Commercial Attaché in London, in view of the fact that drainage pipes are understood to be freely obtainable in the Netherlands. In these circumstances we propose to inform Mr. Netolicky³ that he is correct in assuming that drainage pipes are used mainly in Government drainage schemes but that our present sources of supply are regarded as fully satisfactory. I should be glad to learn whether you agree with the nature of the proposed reply.