Evaluation of U.S. Speaker on the U.S.-Central

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEGUCIGALPA 001498

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IIP/T/ES; IIP/G/WHA (CBARONE; GLLOYD); WHA/PDA
(MBUCKLEY)
EMBASSIES FOR PAO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO HO
SUBJECT: Evaluation of U.S. Speaker on the U.S.-Central
American Free Trade Agreement (US-CAFTA),David E. Lewis,
Tracker #17827

REF: Tegucigalpa 3391

SUMMARY: U.S. Speaker David E. Lewis addressed private
sector organizations, labor, GOH, congressmen, academics,
the general public and the media in his weeklong visit to
Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. PAS sponsored him the first
three days and USAID/Honduras programmed him two days. PAS-
arranged press events received excellent coverage and
highlighted his message on the benefits and challenges of
free trade. The program served to focus Honduran audiences
focused on the upcoming V Round of the US-CAFTA Negotiations
in Tegucigalpa June 16-20. END SUMMARY.

A) Description of the Activity: Dr. David E. Lewis, Vice
President of Manchester Trade, Ltd., visited Honduras June 1-
7, 2003, as a U.S. Speaker on the U.S.-Central American Free
Trade Agreement (US-CAFTA). During his weeklong program,
sponsored by PAS for the first three days and by
USAID/Honduras the other two days, he spoke to private
sector organizations, senior and mid-level government
officials, academics, members of the Honduran Congress,
labor union representatives, and the general public. He
also participated in a PAS-organized press conference, a
live morning TV talk show with the Minister of Industry and
Commerce, and was guest of honor at a luncheon hosted by the
PAO.

B) Date: June 1 - 4, 2003
Fiscal year: FY-03, Third Quarter

C) Justification and Objective: To discuss with Honduran
audiences the benefits of free trade in promoting economic
growth and development.

D) Tracker No. 17827; MPP Goal: Regional Stability, U.S.
Exports, Economic Development and Mutual Understanding.
Audience reached: Approximately 350 people directly,
including representatives from the public and private
sectors; members of the labor unions; students and
professors from the National Autonomous University's Central
American Graduate Program in Economics and Development
Planning (POSCAE); and the general public. His
participation in a live TV program with nationwide coverage
and a PAS-arranged press conference allowed Dr. Lewis to
reach a large number of the general public.

E) Result/Impact: Excellent/Excellent

The post fully met its objective for this program by
providing forums in which to discuss the opportunities,
challenges and benefits for Honduras in the CAFTA, what U.S.
business seeks, the importance of Central American
integration, and the fact that CAFTA is only the first step
in a long-term trade relationship with the U.S. Most
important of all, Dr. Lewis stressed that CAFTA is an
opportunity to reform the economy and the legal system. He
also noted that it was the Central American countries who
had requested a FTA with the U.S.

Dr. David Lewis conducted an intensive program during his
visit to Honduras in his dual role as a U.S. Speaker on the
U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement and a consultant
with USAID/Honduras.

On his first program day, Dr. Lewis lectured 20 students and
faculty (among them Dr. Hugo Noe Pino, former Honduran
Ambassador to the U.S.) at the POSCAE, was briefed by the
DCM and other Embassy officials, and was guest of honor at a
lunch hosted by the Honduran-American Chamber of Commerce
(AMCHAM). At the end of the day, he held a roundtable
discussion with members of the Honduran Council for Private
Enterprise (COHEP).

The following day, Dr. Lewis appeared on "Frente a Frente,"
the interview segment of Honduras's most watched morning TV
news program, with Minister of Industry and Commerce Norman
Garcia. During the 45-minute program, he made the point
that Central America needs to identify what the U.S. market
demands and find out how they can supply it, that Central
America is negotiating with two fronts - the internal
process among the five countries and with the U.S., and that
nothing is final until the negotiations end. The program
moderator expressed appreciation of the U.S. Embassy's
outreach with publications such as IIP's "The Language of
Commerce" and the brochure "US-CAFTA."

Afterwards, Dr. Lewis held a roundtable discussion with the
Vice Minister of Finance, the Director of the Income Tax
Bureau and Customs officials to discuss how lower tariffs
will reduce government income and how to substitute for
them. He also stressed the political decisions that will
have to be taken to make the adjustments and noted that
standardized import/export procedures are an incentive for
foreign investment.

Following this meeting, Dr. Lewis held a press conference in
PAS, which was featured in all four newspapers and on
national TV and four major radio stations

PAO hosted a luncheon for David Lewis with members of the
Honduran Congress, labor union leaders and representatives
of private sector organizations. During the lunch, labor
union officials asked if we could schedule a meeting with
Dr. Lewis so that their leadership and the Minister of Labor
could discuss their concerns in depth. In addition, one of
the congressmen attending decided to arrange a meeting with
the President of the National Congress and several members
of the Commission on Trade.

Dr. Lewis participated in a public program at the
Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce, using his PowerPoint
presentation "CAFTA and Honduras: Challenges and
Opportunities" to address the background and issues
surrounding CAFTA and initiate a discussion on how
agricultural, small business and other sectors could take
advantage of CAFTA.

The following day, Dr. Lewis traveled to the northern city
of San Pedro Sula, accompanied by the PAO and a USAID
official, to meet with the Honduran Apparel Manufacturers
Association ("Maquiladores") and the Cortes Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (CCIC) and to participate in a public
program. The "Maquiladores," by far the best-prepared
sector in the negotiations, discussed the textile proposal
on the table vis--vis CBI and GSP benefits and their hope
that the U.S. would present a more liberal proposal.

Upon returning to Tegucigalpa, Dr. Lewis continued his
program with USAID/Honduras, meeting with the Minister of
Industry and Commerce and members of the Honduran
negotiating team, the President and Vice President of the
Honduran Congress, and representatives from the labor
unions.

Throughout his presentations, Dr. Lewis tried to make the
following points with all his audiences: (1) an FTA is an
instrument for economic development, not a replacement for a
national economic development plan to overcome poverty; (2)
Honduras needs to invest in its human resources; (3) in
international negotiations each nation must be aware of its
important national interests in order to get the greatest
benefit for its economy; (4) Honduras needs to decide where
it wants to be 50 years from now; (5) CBI and GSP are
government-to-government agreements and can be cancelled
anytime, whereas an FTA is a contractual commitment that
involves all sectors; and (6) countries need to find out
what the market demands and how they can supply it.

PAS Tegucigalpa highly recommends Dr. Lewis for future
programs. His vast experience in international trade and
his knowledge of Latin America, plus his fluent Spanish and
hard-working disposition, make him an ideal speaker. He
immediately establishes excellent rapport with his audiences
and manages to keep the discussion on track. We would
welcome him back at any time.

Post distributed copies of IIP handouts, a pamphlet
promoting our IRC, and Dr. Lewis's presentation at all the
venues.

F) Non-USG Sources of In-country Funding/In-kind Support and
Amount: The private sector organizations provided venues and
coffee breaks for the conferences, and the other host
institutions provided conference facilities for their
programs.

G) Quality of U.S. Support and IIP Offices Involved: Very
Good. Post appreciates Gloria Lloyd and Camille Barone's
assistance in making financial arrangements for this
program.

Palmer