'Muscat Tariff Treaty' [‎55r] (134/472)

1*4.
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goods other than those importea into J.uscat in French and
United States vessels. In that event, goods carried in
Dutch vessels /i/ould, presumahly, also have t/O he exempted
from the increase in the duties in view of the most
favoured-nation provisions of the Netherlands-Muscat Treaty.
— xou v;ill r ■■•jr .i'; I, men this proposal was consideredf
that it vvould "be undesirable to put the French, Americans
and Dutch in a privileged position, which, we thought, it
would he more difficult to get them to abandon later on
when the new duties had come into force and they had "begun
to profit hy their exemption. (See paragraph 3 of our
official letter E 6207/166/91 of the 31st January,1930).
t jr t
This argument was a valid one so long as there seemed a
chance of bringing the United States and France into line
in time to get the new duties imposed on all goods alike
without undue delay. But if, as seems to he the case, we
have now reached a deadlock with the United States Govern
ment in regard to the modification of their treaty, and if
there is consequently no hope of securing a modification
of the French treaty, this consideration no longer alto
gether applies. Indeed, by waiting for United States
concurrence for what may prove to be an indefinite time,
we may only be uselessly preventing Muscat from imposing
duties without further delay on what may s till prove to ba
the bulk of her imports (i.e. on goods imported in ships
not flying the United States, French or Dutch flags), and
thus redressing her finances at a moment when they are in
a critical condition.
The suggestion in (3) of the Ohancery*s.letter may,
however, be open to the objection that importers would and
coula arrange for a large part of the imports into Muscat
to be brought in in vessels flying the French, United
States or Netherlands flag. The Resident in the Persian
Gulf could no aoubt gilre an opinion on this point. But
P.