Coll 30/80 'Trade: Reports on Persian Gulf Market and trading possibilities' [‎64r] (128/712)

(V
EXT. 4930/46
To
Offica. of the Political Liesident,
Porsisui :ulf #
C£»Q f Bahrain.
lilted the 8th July 1946,
The Handle Lieutenant Colonel .R.Hay, C.S. I. ,
Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Persian Culf. *
Hie Majesty*a Secretary of State fer India,
’ India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. ,
London.
.Or ‘Tiiii ifilii nn ttrr -j-rMriiri-rehr intlfa
Sir i
I have the honour to state that many camplainta have beea received
from Kuwait merchants regarding the refusal of British exporters to
deal with them direct. On their leaking applications to such exporters
they ;ire referred to some agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Iraq, gypt, audi /rabia, palentizie
or Persia. The followin-; are seme instances.
4 4
(i) One merchant who infomed Messrs. Vauxhall motors niiiiited
that he wished to import their cars was tola that he should apply to their
agent in Iraq. The same merchant when he made enquiries about Bedford
Trucks was told to apply to Alexandria. Messrs. B.q. •Cycles jjimit^d
Birmingham told him to apply to Baghdad for their products. The U.K«
Tobacco Company merely informed him that they had allotted an agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for
Kuwait elsewhere than in Kuwait.
(ii) Another merchant who applied to Austin Motors Company Limited,
Birmingham* was advised to contact the Company* s distributor in Jeuda.
(iii) Another merchant applied to Messrs. Rootes Limited asking
for an kgmej for Huaber cars. Ho spent ov.r £50 in telegrams without
receiving aty acknowled^nent. He was finally told he had boon appointed
as Bub-dealt-r to a dealer in Palestine. The Political \gent, Kuw.iit,
himself, when he applied to Messrs. Kootes for a quotation for a Hui bcr,
was referred to an agent in. Baghdad.
I *• : J - • t ^ ; • ♦
• (iv) /another merchant who applied to Messrs. Rothmans Linited,
Pall Mall, London for the agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ' of their cigarette products which had
previously been granted to him in 1937 was told that they had apxjointed
the Union Trading Company, London, as their agent for the Middle Last.
The merchant subsequently heard frem the Union Trading Company that they
were represented in Kuwait by their a^ent Mr. Jarneel Salman at Baghdad.
2. hile L was in Kuwait, lusuf al Ghanim, one of the most important
and richest merchants in the- town came to see we and said he was interested
in importing engines for dhows, electrical machinery and flour mills for
Saudi Arabia but was quite unable to obtain any direct contact with British
firms. * *
3. he following is a list of British firms not previously mentioned
in this letter who are reported by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. to have given agencies
outside Kuwait to cover the Bhaikhdcms
* Chomia products Ltd., London.
Darragh ouiu.il & Co., Ltd., London.
Chance Bros. Ltd., London.
Nathan and Elen Ltd., London.
Batrlein Bros., Manchester.
Sunbeam Cycles Ltd., Birmingham.
Walpamur Co. Ltd., Parwen, Lancaster.
}jritish Celanese Ltd., London.
Zf.* Merchants also coriiplain that when British firms oo accept orders
they ask for irrevocable Letters of Credit but that there is so much delay
in the despatch of the goods that these leUers b-ve coa^tantly to be
< f j SSf - /renewed
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