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transfers of that type might serve useful economic or commercial purpose, and where transfers of small amounts are of substantial importance to the interested parties. They will examine in the same spirit requests for transfers of funds to the United States filed by American nationals residing in the Netherlands.

Your Government will be aware that immediately upon the liberation of the Netherlands, the measures of control over foreign property instituted by the enemy were abrogated. Custodians over foreign property are now acting only if and in so far as the original owners are incapable of acting themselves. An administrative procedure is now established whereby such absent owners can at their request be reinstated in their rights.

My Government has not imposed restrictions on the assets of nationals of the United States for the purpose of controlling property in which an enemy interest might exist, except in particular cases in which my Government has reason to believe that control is necessary to prevent the transfer of property in which any enemy has an interest or to avoid the completion of transactions which might be directly or indirectly to the benefit of any enemy.

Property in the Netherlands of nationals of the United States will be treated on as favourable a basis as applied now or hereafter to nationals of any other country.

Accept, my dear Mr. Secretary, the expression of my high esteem.

P. Lieftinck
Minister of Finance

Washington, February 11, 1946

My dear Mr. Minister,

I am pleased to have received the assurances contained in your letter of January 22, 1946, concerning the general licence which representatives of our two Departments have been discussing. In view of the statements contained in your letter, I am happy to inform you that on February 13, 1946, by amendment
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