§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the use of the banking system in the Cayman Islands by narcotics traffickers.
§ Mr. RifkindAn agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom and Cayman Islands authorities in the form of an exchange of letters has been negotiated within the framework which the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Dam, and I established last autumn for the handling of problems of extraterritoriality which might effect relations between our two countries. This agreement will provide an acceptable procedure by which the United States authorities may obtain access to documentary information in the Cayman Islands relating to offences connected with traffic in narcotics. For their part, the United States Administration will not enforce federal subpoenas in such cases for the production of documents located in the Cayman Islands. I have today signed the exchange of letters with the United States ambassador. This is a good example of how, with goodwill and understanding, practical solutions can be found for problems in the difficult area of extraterritoriality.
I have arranged for copies of the exchange of letters to be deposited in the Library of the House. They will be printed in the treaty series.