US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA1390

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001390 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/PDA (MBUCKLEY); IIP/G/WHA DIPASQUALE; EB/EPPD DCLUNE; 
USTR AGASH 
INFO IIP/T/ES 
EMBASSIES FOR PAOS, IOs, 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, HO, PA, ETRD, USTR 
SUBJECT: HONDURAN ATMOSPHERICS ON CAFTA, JUNE 5-12, 2003 
 
1. Op-ed by Rodil Rivera in Tegucigalpa-based liberal daily "La 
Tribuna" (6/05) entitled "Frustration," "What has happened to all 
the wealth that the bureaucrats assured us would come from CAFTA? 
As we see it, the negotiations are stalling and the American 
negotiators are offering less than Central America expected." 
 
2. San Pedro Sula-based Liberal daily "Tiempo," (06/06) ran an 
article entitled "The US has cards hidden up its sleeve in the 
CAFTA negotiations." "Some segments in the Honduran private 
sector believe the U.S. is not responding to the expectations it 
had aroused because, during the last round of negotiations in 
Guatemala, it proposed a five-year tariff reduction program, 
instead of offering to let goods enter the US tariff-free right 
from the start of the agreement as Honduran business had 
expected." 
 
3. Op-ed by Roger Marin in Tegucigalpa-based moderate daily "El 
Heraldo" (06/06) entitled, "Dangerous relationships," which says 
that the signing of CAFTA is not supposed to provide all answers 
to problems from agricultural productivity to the macro economy 
and exchange rate balance.  "CAFTA can only be a mechanism to 
creating a more prosperous and fairer economy, but that will be 
our responsibility." 
 
4. San Pedro Sula-based Liberal daily "La Prensa"(6/08) carried 
an interview with Jesus Canahuati, president of the Honduran 
Association of Maquiladores and member of the CAFTA negotiation 
team, entitled "Guatemala: reckless and confrontational in CAFTA 
negotiations," in which he emphasized that there is a severe 
conflict between the Guatemalan private sector and the 
governmental team, who is carrying out the negotiations in a 
reckless and unilateral manner. 
 
5. "La Tribuna" (6/09) featured an article entitled "Honduras 
will not be fully aggressive on the fifth round of negotiations." 
"None of the Central American teams will be belligerent during 
the upcoming round towards the aggressive proposals of the U.S. 
team. "This round will be key to finding out more about the U.S. 
position on CAFTA." 
 
6. Article in "Tiempo" (6/09) entitled "CAFTA will lose income". 
Honduran authorities have estimated that the country would lose 
1.5 billion lempiras per year due to the decrease in tariff 
revenues. 
 
7. "El Heraldo" (6/10) carried an interview with former Costa 
Rican president Miguel Angel Rodriguez entitled, "We need to 
negotiate more than just free trade." "Free trade with the US 
beyond question beneficial, but Central America also needs to 
include other issues, such as migration, cooperation and 
compensation to social groups." 
 
8. Article in "El Heraldo" (6/10) entitled "Central America will 
expand trade offer to the US" reports that the Central American 
negotiation teams agreed to expand the trade offer to the US from 
58% to 75%. This proposal that will be presented in the fifth 
round of negotiations means that the basket of goods included in 
the agreement went from 3,700 to 4,800 products. "This means that 
the next round will be key because the real negotiations will 
kick off." 
 
9. Article in "La Prensa" (6/11) entitled "Guatemala will 
negotiate by itself." The discrepancies among the Central 
American teams have become evident since Guatemala announced it 
might present its own trade offer to the U.S. in the Fifth round. 
Guatemalan private groups have criticized their government's 
proposal for not considering the interests of the entire country. 
 
10. An article in "La Tribuna" (6/11) entitled, "Central American 
textile entrepreneurs are finishing up their proposal to U.S.," 
says the proposal will consider the needs of the textile and 
clothes-making sector, stressing the importance of textiles in 
CAFTA. The Central American textile entrepreneurs are also 
assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the U.S. proposal 
for their industry. 
 
11. Article in "La Prensa" June 12, entitled "Tegucigalpa will be 
the starting point of the negotiations," sees the fifth round as 
the real beginning of CAFTA negotiations.  It also goes on to say 
that Honduras will present a concrete proposal on labor 
integration. 
 
12. An article in "EL Heraldo", 6/12), entitled "Textile 
counterproposal is ready to be presented to the U.S.," says that, 
according to Honduran maquila owners, the most critical issues 
are the rules of origin, access to plain fabrics and the 
definition of "preferences" in U.S. market access. 
 
Palmer