US embassy cable - 04TEGUCIGALPA715

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000715 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN AND WHA/EPSC 
STATE PASS USTR FOR JWOLFE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, ECON, PREL, HO 
SUBJECT: HONDURAS READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON FTAA, BUT FEELS 
SOMEWHAT SIDELINED 
 
REF: STATE 44578 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: EconOffs discussed reftel and the way 
forward on the FTAA with Honduran Director of Trade Policy, 
Melvin Redondo.  The GOH is committed to the negotiation of 
a high-quality plurilateral agreement within the FTAA, and 
supports using the next Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) to 
move toward this goal.  However, GOH officials think that 
the main action in the FTAA negotiations is taking place 
without them, and as a result are focusing their energies on 
other areas, at least for now.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) On March 17, EconOffs met with Melvin Redondo, 
Director of Trade Policy and Honduras' Chief Negotiator for 
trade agreements, and discussed the points contained in 
reftel.  Redondo confirmed that Honduras is committed to 
negotiating a high-quality plurilateral agreement with the 
Group of 14, and supports using the April TNC in Puebla to 
move toward this goal.  However, Redondo also acknowledged 
that the FTAA is, at best, the GOH's third most important 
policy priority at the moment.  Honduras' top trade 
priorities for 2004 are the WTO negotiations and the 
completion of the Central American Customs Union (see septel 
for a further discussion of these issues). 
 
3. (SBU) Redondo said that his office is preparing a goals 
paper, including a proposed safeguard mechanism to respond 
to agricultural subsidies, which should be ready for the 
April TNC.  However, he also expressed some frustration 
that, while countries were encouraged to put forth offers, 
very little negotiation of those offers in fact seems to be 
taking place.  Redondo was also concerned about continued 
ambiguity in the relationship that the FTAA will have with 
the large number of regional agreements that already exist, 
specifically mentioning CAFTA, the Costa Rica-Canada FTA, 
and the agreement among Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia, 
among others. 
 
4. (SBU) Redondo expressed his strong disappointment that 
Honduras had not been invited to participate in the pre-TNC 
informal discussions held March 9-10 in Buenos Aires.  He 
pointed out that Costa Rica, which was included at Buenos 
Aires, was a part of the troublesome Group of 20-plus 
nations in Cancun, and that it was "not consistent" for the 
United States to have apparently drawn Costa Rica into its 
inner circle, leaving other Central American countries on 
the sidelines. 
 
5. (SBU) In a separate conversation on March 18, Vice 
Minister for External Trade Irving Guerrero echoed Redondo's 
view that Honduras is on the periphery of the FTAA 
negotiations.  According to Guerrero, Honduras "is not the 
problem" with the FTAA.  While Honduras is ready to move 
forward at any time, the real work that must be done is 
between the U.S. and the Mercosur countries.  Guerrero 
confirmed that he will attend the April TNC in Puebla. 
 
Palmer