"ملف ٩/٤ I العلاقات الأنجلو-كويتية" [و‎‎١‎١] (٤٣٦/٣٠)

11 —'■ i l - 1 -■
■ ‘
—Jr ' f
ioXltioal Agmoy, Kuwait*
Dated tiie S5th May 1931*
Win you pleas© refer to your D*0*No*1006
dated 13tH i!ay 1931 regarding the jfp tax on imports
recently imposed by His lixoellcaioy W& Shaikh*
2* as a result of a talk, I had with His
Excellency this morning (25th May 1931) on the subject,
I do not think the now import tax infringes the 1907 agree- i
mont for reasons given below and I feel certain the Shaikh
would never have moved in the matter had he thought that
it did*
3* The shaikh was of course Quite aware of i
the wording of the treaty and paragraph 10, even though
to refresh his memory I showed him the English and Arabic
version*
4* In the fir at place, the Shaikh pointed out
that the wording of the treaty, as far as he understood it
imported
forbade him to raise the duty on goods exported from or /
into Kuwait by British subjects including British Indians.
But that he was free to make on increase in the case of his
own subjects should the state finances render this necossarj
With this view I concur. '
b. Secondly the Shaikh assured me that al
though there were about a dozen Indians all told making a
living in Kuwait, only one soda-water manufacturer, exportec
anything into Kuwait, and very occasionally an Indian who
runs a flour mill here. The others were all people of the
U
barber, oculist and durzi type who imported or exported
nothing* In spit© of this however he the Hhaikh had passed
orders to the Director of Customs, that the extra ^ tax