US embassy cable - 05GUATEMALA2495

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 002495 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, EINV, BEXP, PREL, OVIP, GT 
SUBJECT:  Visit of Secretary of Commerce to Guatemala 
 
 
1.  Summary:  Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez visited 
Guatemala from October 16-18, 2005, leading a business 
delegation of 19 U.S. companies as well as an interagency 
group with top officials from OPIC, USTDA, EXIM, IDB/Treasury, 
SBA and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).  The 
Secretary's CAFTA Business Development Mission also traveled 
 
SIPDIS 
to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and San Salvador, El Salvador. 
The Secretary had a wide range of meetings and activities in 
Guatemala focused on CAFTA, trade and investment and other key 
U.S objectives in Central America.  End Summary 
 
HURRICANE STAN 
 
2.  The Secretary's started his program with a visit to 
CONRED, Guatemala's equivalent of FEMA.  He expressed his 
sympathy on behalf of the USG for the ravages of Hurricane 
Stan, which had left over 500 dead.  He announced an 
additional $2 million in funding of food aid via USAID and the 
World Food Program of the UN. 
 
CCAA CONFERENCE 
 
3.  On October 17, the Secretary gave the keynote address to a 
one-day conference on CAFTA implementation organized by 
Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA), which also featured 
President Berger, and top ministers and businessmen from 
around the region and the Dominican Republic.  During his 
speech - and throughout his visit - the Secretary stressed the 
need for countries to comply with CAFTA commitments so that 
the President can certify to Congress that the signatories 
have met all the legislative and administrative requirements 
and CAFTA can be implemented by January 1.  He also emphasized 
the importance of the private sector in future development, 
the need to improve the investment climate by upgrading legal 
frameworks and protecting intellectual property, and the 
benefits of increased linkages between Central America and the 
United States. 
 
MEDIA COVERAGE 
 
4.  The Secretary conducted a joint press conference to launch 
the mission, along with Minister of Economy Marcio Cuevas, 
which included U.S. company representatives and interagency 
officials.  The media gave the Secretary comprehensive and 
very positive coverage throughout the three-day visit. 
 
BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL MEETINGS 
 
5.  The Secretary held bilateral meetings with President 
Berger and Economic Minister Cuevas, both of which included 
other top ministers and officials.  In these meetings he once 
again stressed the need to focus on CAFTA implementation, 
asking his interlocutors to make a final effort to allow 
President Bush to certify CAFTA as ready to go.  He stressed 
that Congress would be scrutinizing the Agreement and 
implementation process closely.  The Secretary also hosted a 
productive meeting and lunch with Central American and DR 
trade ministers, as well as a roundtable with top regional 
CEOs. 
 
SITE VISITS 
 
6.  Secretary Gutierrez made site visits to successful U.S. 
companies, including Frito Lay and San Diego-based PriceSmart, 
as well as a major local textile plant exporting to the U.S. 
(Koramsa).  Exploring Guatemala's key agricultural sector, he 
visited a coffee farm near historic Antigua, where he heard 
presentations from the national coffee association (Anacafe), 
non-traditional exporters association (Agexpront), and tourism 
promotion agency (Inguat).  While in Antigua, he spoke at an 
ongoing IPR enforcement training seminar for Central American 
judges and prosecutors hosted by Commerce's Patent and 
Trademark Office. 
 
AMCHAM AND U.S. BUSINESS EVENTS 
 
7.  The Secretary opened an American Chamber trade finance 
seminar with SBA, EXIM, USTDA and OPIC with a keynote address, 
and later hosted a roundtable with the heads of U.S. firms 
represented in Guatemala.  In this meeting, he heard at length 
about both the difficulties and opportunities for U.S. firms 
in Guatemala. 
 
TRADE MISSION RESULTS 
 
8.  Over the course of the Guatemala visit, the 19 companies 
and organizations represented on the mission met with 148 
Guatemalan companies and government officials, as well as 
attending several large events where they were could network. 
The companies indicated that they saw significant 
opportunities, and most expected some commercial success to 
come from their visit.  Many of the business delegation 
members expressed their desire to continue to work in the 
region and look for ways to maintain the momentum that passage 
of CAFTA-DR provided for both U.S. and Central American 
businesses. 
 
9.  This cable was cleared by the Department of Commerce. 
 
Derham