-2-
shall be allowed only If the Secretary of the Treasury
shall have been advised by the Secretary of Oommeroe
that he has found that such foreign country allows or
will allow substantially reciprocal privileges In res-
pect of aircraft registered in the United States. The
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury states that as soon
as he has been advised by the Secretary of Commerce to
whom this matter has been referred, that substantially
reciprocal privileges are allowed or will be allowed in
the United Kingdom in respect of aircraft registered in
the United States, the Treasury Department will promptly
instruct the collector of customs, New York, N.Y., as to
the privileges of free withdrawal which may be granted to
aircraft registered in the United Kingdom.
With respect to your further inquiries whether the
granting of free withdrawals under section 309 of the Tariff
Act, as amended, may be accorded retroactively to aircraft
of the Imperial Airways and duties refunded on spare parts
and other equipment withdrawn duty-paid by such aircraft
in the United States since July 5, 1937, since which time
it
-3-
lt is averred, aircraft of Pan American Airways, Incor-
porated, operating in international service, would have
been allowed the privilege of free withdrawal of spare
parts and other equipment in Great Britain, the Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury advises that the provisions of
section 309 of the Tariff Act, as amended."by section 5 (a)
of the Customs Administrative Act of 1938, are not retro-
active in their application.   Furthermore, even as to with-
drawals made in the United States on and after June 26,
1938, the effective date of section 5 (a) of the Customs
Administrative Act of 1938, the Treasury Department is
unable to rule in the absence of facte in the particular
case or cases, whether duties paid on such withdrawals of
supplies or equipment and articles of maintenance or
repair for use on aircraft registered in the United Kingdom
may be refunded, although the Secretary of Commerce should
find and so advise the Secretary of the Treasury that sub-
stantially reciprocal privileges were allowed in the
United Kingdom in respect of aircraft registered in the
United States at the time such withdrawals were made*
Accept
32
-4-
Accept, Sir, the renewed assurances of my high
consideration*
For the Secretary of State:
1 (^^OtTi
611.41246/49