E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Foreign Relations Dept.

In 1929 E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company signed an agreement with the recently formed British combine, Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. to exchange scientific information on a routine basis. Part of the reason for devising this agreement was to permit ICI and the Du Pont Company to divide world markets without violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Du Pont and ICI agreed to grant each other exclusive licenses for patents and secret processes owned by the other, thereby dividing world markets for their diverse products. The agreement also led to extensive sharing of scientific and technical information. Coordination of this agreement was initially the responsibility of the Executive Committee which appointed a Foreign Relations subcommittee for this purpose. However, by 1930 it became evident that detailed coordination required the kind of day-to-day monitoring that could not be done by the Executive Committee. As a result a formal Foreign Relations Department was organized. It was renamed the International Department in 1958.