Federal Reserve Bank of New York Circular Series

FOR THE PRESS July 17, 1941.
As a further step in view of the unlimited national emergency declared by the President, he
has today issued a Proclamation authorizing the promulgation of a list of persons which will be
known as "The Proclaimed List of Certain Blocked Nationals". The list will consist of certain
persons deemed to be acting for the benefit of Germany or Italy or nationals of those countries,
and persons to whom the exportation, directly or indirectly, of various articles or materials is
deemed to be detrimental to the interest of national defense. The list will be prepared by the
Secretary of State acting in conjunction with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General,
the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of Export Control, and the Coordinator of Commercial
and Cultural Relations between the American Republics.
Simultaneously with the issuance of the Proclamation, a proclaimed list was issued by the
designated Government officials containing the names of more than 1,800 persons and business
institutions in the other American Republics. This list is the result of long and intensive investigations
and studies by the interested governmental agencies. The list will be published in the
Federal Register and may be obtained in pamphlet form from various governmental institutions
and the Federal Reserve Banks. From time to time there will be additions to and deletions from
the list which will also be made public. The President gave warning that anyone serving as a
cloak for a person on the list will have his name added forthwith to the list.
The list will have two principal functions. In the first place, no article covered by the Export
Control Act of July 2, 1940, may be exported to persons named in the list except under special
circumstances. Secondly, persons on the list will be treated as though they were nationals of
Germany or Italy within the meaning of Executive Order No. 8389, as amended, under which, on
June 14, 1941, the freezing control was extended to all of the countries of the continent of Europe
and nationals thereof.
At the time of the issuance of the Proclamation, it was also announced that in attaining the
objectives of Executive Order No. 8389, as amended, all efforts are being made to cause the least
possible interference with legitimate inter-American trade. With that end in view the Treasury
Department has issued a general license with respect to inter-American trade transactions and the
financial transactions incidental thereto involving persons in the other American Republics who
may be nationals of a European country designated in the Order. This general license will permit
such classes of transactions without the necessity of applying for specific licenses.
The general license, however, will not apply to persons so long as their names appear on the
proclaimed list. In addition, exporters and importers in the United States may from time to time
be advised by their banks or otherwise that instructions have been issued by the Secretary of the
Treasury requiring specific license applications for trade transactions involving certain persons
in the other American Republics who are not named on the proclaimed list.
Furthermore, financial transactions which are not incidental to licensed trade transactions are
not covered by the general license. With respect to such purely financial transactions, appropriate
specific licenses will have to be obtained from the Treasury Department.
The proclaimed list will also serve as a guide to United States firms in the selection of agents
and representatives in the other American Republics.
Digitized for FRASER
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis