US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA6521

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 006521 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PLS PASS USTR FOR RVARGO AND BHARMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, EAGR, FTA 
SUBJECT: CODEL THOMAS DELIVERS HARD MESSAGE TO COLOMBIANS 
ABOUT ATPDEA AND THE FTA 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified -- please protect accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary.  During his meetings in Bogota, Chairman 
Thomas delivered a clear message that ATPDEA will not be 
renewed and that the window for successfully negotiating a 
U.S.-Andean-FTA was closing rapidly. President Uribe, 
Agricultural Minister Arias and Trade Minister Botero all 
argued that the security situation in Colombia merited 
special consideration, but Chairman Thomas was clear that 
while we could be creative within the framework of the 
agreements already negotiated, new, special mechanisms were 
out of the question.  Chairman Thomas also held a press 
conference during which he repeated these assertions.  End 
Summary. 
 
The Chairman,s Message 
---------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU)  During his meetings in Bogota, Chairman Thomas 
delivered the same message:  he was visiting Colombia, Peru 
and Ecuador because he was worried about the current state of 
play of the FTA negotiations and he wanted to tell this to 
the leaders of the countries.  He added that ATPDEA would not 
be renewed by the U.S. Congress, therefore failing an Andean 
FTA, Colombia would face the worst scenario: no ATPDEA, no 
FTA, and Central America-DR, Mexico and Chile all enjoying 
free access to the U.S. market.  Thomas, third major point 
was that the window for negotiating an Andean FTA was really 
in late 2003 and early 2004.  After a tough CAFTA fight, he 
explained, it was difficult to imagine much support for 
pushing through the Andean agreement, with its similarities 
to CAFTA on sugar, labor, environment and agriculture. 
Finally, Chairman Thomas made clear that the U.S. Congress 
considered previous FTA,s as the template that had to be 
followed and it would be impossible to approve any agreement 
that featured radically different mechanisms, such as 
permanent safeguards against distortions caused by internal 
subsidies.  Democratic Codel member Stephanie Tubbs-Jones 
noted her opposition to CAFTA and was emphatic on the need 
for a strong labor chapter. Reps. Shaw, Weller and Nunes 
echoed the chairman,s messages. 
 
Minister Arias 
-------------- 
2.  (SBU)  Minister Arias emphasized the importance of 
gaining special treatment for Colombian agriculture due to 
the importance of the rural sector in the fight against drugs 
and terrorism.  Chairman Thomas responded by noting that 
there are many countries asking for special treatment for 
different reasons, but any agreement will have to fit into 
the overall framework of what we have agreed with other 
countries.   Min. Arias pressed for the need for real access 
to the U.S. market and a clear and agile mechanism for 
handling SPS issues.  He then concluded by complaining about 
the lack of response to Colombian agricultural and SPS 
proposals.  Chairman Thomas responded that as long as they 
are making proposals that don't fall into the framework of 
what was done previously in other U.S. FTA's, then the U.S. 
couldn,t move forward.  The U.S. wants to move, but it has 
to be in the context of opening the market.  The Chairman 
went on to say that delaying the negotiations is not to the 
advantage of Colombia.  Colombia has had a window of 
opportunity to negotiate the FTA, but this is closing fast. 
 
Minister Botero/Chief Negotiator Gomez 
-------------------------------------- 
3.  (SBU)  Minister Botero responded to Chairman Thomas, 
comments by stating that Colombia also faces political 
realities and has to negotiate a deal that could pass in its 
Congress.  Botero also stated that while Colombia had 
demonstrated political will to move the agreement forward, he 
had not seen comparable will on the part of U.S. negotiators 
due to the CAFTA approval process.  Botero, like Minister 
Arias, pointed out that the U.S. had yet to respond to many 
offers on the table and until the GOC saw U.S. engagement, it 
was difficult to put anything but the most conservative 
offers on the table.  Botero stressed the need for real 
access to the U.S. market for Colombian agriculture.  He 
stated that without this, and the SPS permanent committee 
needed to achieve this, then Colombia would gain very little 
in the agriculture sector under an FTA.   Chairman Thomas 
committed to getting a response from the U.S. on Colombia's 
agriculture proposals.  FTA lead negotiator Gomez added that 
the GOC was worried about the timetable and the lack of U.S. 
response.  He and Botero stated that the GOC was looking for 
pragmatic solutions to the remaining issues, but both sides 
had to engage to achieve those solutions and the U.S. was not 
engaging.  The key, according to Gomez, was a balanced 
agreement where one side does not get primary products and 
the other everything else.  Gomez added that Colombia 
understood it had to open up many markets, but in some areas 
of agriculture, they had to insure the survival of some 
domestic production to maintain the rural sector populated, 
or else face increasing instability and insecurity. 
 
President Uribe 
--------------- 
4.  (SBU)  The President welcomed the Codel and thanked the 
chairman for his efforts to support Colombia, especially 
during the renewal of ATPDEA.  He stressed the important link 
between agricultural employment and security and explained 
this was the reason why Colombia needed additional 
flexibility to protect a basic group of products (corn, 
chicken leg quarters, rice, beans, and oilseeds).  The rural 
sector was also important because it was a quarter of the 
Colombian population, and there were many more in the cities 
that depended on the sector and agro-industry for their 
livelihood.  Uribe added that he understood that a bilateral 
FTA could not hinder the U.S.,s ability to use internal 
supports for agriculture, but he felt that the agreement must 
then allow countries some mechanism to offset the 
distortionary effects of those subsidies.  Chairman Thomas 
responded that the Congress would simply not approve such 
mechanisms, but he pledged to work with Colombia and use all 
his creativity to find solutions for these issues that fell 
within the existing framework created by previous agreements. 
 President Uribe also asked the Chairman,s assistance in 
obtaining U.S. responses to the Colombian agricultural, SPS 
and intellectual property offers.  Chairman Thomas promised 
to contact USTR upon his return to get the process moving. 
Uribe also made a geopolitical argument about the importance 
of the FTA, stating that Colombia was a strong supporter of 
the U.S. while Brazil was trying to supplant the U.S.,s 
leadership and Venezuela was trying to buy a leadership role 
with cheap oil.  Uribe also pointed out the instability in 
the region and the negative signal that would be sent if the 
U.S. were unable to conclude an FTA with as strong an ally as 
Colombia. 
 
5.  (SBU)  Congressman Weller asked President Uribe about 
implementation of the peace and justice law.  The President 
responded that over 12,000 members of terrorist groups had 
turned themselves in, of which 55 percent were AUC and 45 
percent guerillas.  The President defended the law, stating 
that this time there would be penalties and no amnesty, like 
there was for the M-19.  Moreover, those who were solely 
narco-traffickers would not have any benefits under the law, 
and those who committed human rights abuses would have to 
serve sentences and would have no amnesty or pardon.  The 
President also stated that extradition would be permitted 
under the law and used the case of AUC leader Salvatore 
Mancuso to demonstrate his point.  The President suspended 
the GOC,s consideration of the extradition so long as 
Mancuso lived up to the terms of his demobilization.  If he 
were to violate them, then the President would allow the 
extradition process to move forward. 
 
6.   (SBU) Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones raised the issue of 
labor violence with the President.  He responded that the 
cornerstone of his administration was the concept of security 
for everyone.  He related that when he took power in 2002, 
161 labor leaders were killed and 400 of 1096 mayors could 
not exercise their duties because of guerilla threats. 
Today, there might be one or two mayors that are having such 
security problems and the Colombian government is doing 
everything in its power to eliminate these problems.  The 
President added that this year only five labor leaders have 
been killed, but that is five too many.  His goal was to 
eliminate violence against labor leaders, against mayors, and 
against the civilian population.  According to the President, 
the only way to ensure continued support for his democratic 
security program was to make sure that everyone shared in its 
benefits. 
 
Press Play 
---------- 
 
7.  (U)  Chairman Thomas, comments during his press 
conference received wide coverage in both print and 
television.  Front-page headlines in top business dailies 
repeated his statement that ATPDEA would not be renewed and 
his concern that the negotiations were not moving fast 
enough.  Minister Botero, in a statement published on the 
presidency,s website, characterized the visit as positive 
and highlighted the Chairman,s promise to seek U.S. 
responses to Colombian offers on agriculture.  The 
Chairman,s message has also resonated with the business 
community, who appreciated his frank appraisal of the 
situation. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8.  (SBU)  Overall the visit was successful in ensuring the 
GOC understands the political realities of trade 
liberalization in Washington.  Chairman Thomas' clear 
explanation of what the U.S. was seeking helped the ministers 
and President Uribe see our positions in a realistic light. 
Post has already followed up with the Codel's Colombian 
interlocutors to reinforce the message starting with a phone 
call by the Ambassador to Minister Botero.  We will continue 
to follow-up before the next round in Miami.  End Comment. 
WOOD