Da Gama Challenges an American Suit over Brazil's Coffee Stock

São Paulo's government bought coffee to prevent a large crop from driving prices ruinously low, then controlled its subsequent sale on the international market. [3] [1]

Brazilian ambassador Domício da Gama learned from the newspapers that the United States had sued the committee selling coffee owned by the state of São Paulo. On 30 May 1912, he protested to Secretary of State Philander Knox that Brazil had received no warning. Da Gama also denied that an American court could exercise jurisdiction over a foreign state's acts and property. [1]

Knox arranged for the ambassador to see the president and said that the State Department itself had lacked official information about the suit. Negotiations eventually centered on disposing of the coffee stored in New York. By March 1913, the Brazilian embassy had a confidential list of eighty buyers and declared that the sales were genuine, unrestricted, and intended for consumption in the United States. [2] [3]

That assurance helped secure the withdrawal. On 22 April, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan told Da Gama that the Attorney General had instructed the New York prosecutor to end the case. The American government offered no immunity from future enforcement of its laws. Bryan instead sought advance notice of any new proceedings so that the two governments could try to resolve another dispute through diplomacy. [4]

Da Gama telegraphed the decision to his government. Brazil's president reported to Congress in May that the case had ended after the embassy vouched for the sales. [5] [4]

Related Diplomats

1. Domício da Gama [1] [3] [4] [5]

Related Reading

• Brazil and the United States
• Federative Republic of Brazil