US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA4477

UNCLAS PRETORIA 004477 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PD - TROOKARD; AF/S - MTABLER-STONE 
USDA FOR FAS/PUBLIC AFFAIRS/MAUREEN QUINN  AND 
 FAS/FAA/RANDY HAGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, SF 
SUBJECT: RESULTS REPORT: U.S. FARM OFFICIAL FINDS FERTILE 
GROUND FOR FREE-TRADE MESSAGE; MPP GOALS: EP-ECONOMIC 
PROSPERITY AND SECURITY 
 
 
1.  Activity: Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator 
A. Ellen Terpstra's October 29-November 1 visit to South 
Africa as leader of a farm trade and investment 
delegation resulted in print and broadcast media 
interviews that provided an excellent platform for 
explaining US agricultural trade policy, particularly the 
latest US offer at World Trade Organization talks. The 
nation's largest-circulation newspaper also ran an op-ed 
piece under her byline encouraging South African support 
for US trade policy. 
 
2.  The Administrator's first media event was an 
interview for AgriTV taped on October 31. AgriTV is an 
early morning television program carried by the South 
African Broadcasting Corp. that has a viewership of about 
200,000. She discussed her trade mission and U.S. trade 
policy. The two four-minute segments air the week of 
November 7. 
 
3. On November 1 the administrator hosted a one-hour, on- 
the-record discussion with five journalists from leading 
publications. She spoke on the latest agricultural trade 
proposal put forth by the USG at WTO talks, on US 
subsidies, and on bilateral trade. The discussion 
resulted in three favorable articles the following day: 
in Business Day (circ. 40,000) under the headline "EU 
Plan for Farm-Aid Cuts Not Aggressive Enough - US 
Official;" in Business Report, which appears in a number 
of papers including The Star (circ. 170,000), under the 
headline "Washington Offers to Scrap All Farm Subsidies 
in 15 Years;" and in Beeld, an Afrikaans-language daily 
with a circulation of 100,000, under the headline "US 
Slams EU Agricultural Proposals." 
 
4. Finally, PAS submitted an op-ed piece under Terpstra's 
byline to the Sunday Times (circulation 505,000). The 
article, which appeared on the Nov. 6 opinion page of the 
paper's business section under the headline "Bold Action 
Needed to Boost Global Growth," urged South Africa to 
support U.S. efforts to push forward WTO trade talks and 
discussed the general benefits of reducing barriers to 
trade. 
 
5.  Results: Pretty darned good. Although not a high- 
profile figure in South Africa, Terpstra was covered by a 
number of leading media. She effectively delivered the 
message that the US was making a bold agricultural trade 
proposal to help ensure a successful Doha round of WTO 
talks and that it was in South Africa's interest to 
support that US proposal and free-trade in general. 
 
HARTLEY