GARCIA LINERA "CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC" AFTER

UNCLAS LA PAZ 002538 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN TREASURY FOR SGOOCH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EINV ECON PREL PGOV BL SUBJECT: GARCIA LINERA "CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC" AFTER WASHINGTON VISIT ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera told a leading La Paz businessman September 16 that he was "cautiously optimistic" after his September 11-13 trip to Washington, as some U.S. officials seemed to look favorably on Bolivia's push for an extension of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act. Garcia Linera reportedly pressed Iberkleid and other private sector representatives to immediately schedule follow-up meetings but later accepted recommendations to delay a trip until after U.S. congressional elections. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera told a leading La Paz businessman September 16 that he was "cautiously optimistic" after his September 11-13 trip to Washington. According to Marcos Iberkleid, an influential voice in the GOB's trade policy debates and Bolivia's largest private employer, the vice president characterized his meetings with U.S. executive and legislative branch officials as "productive" and said he believed some might be willing to support Bolivia's push for an extension of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA),set to expire December 31. While the vice president reportedly understood that securing an extension would be difficult, he believed he successfully presented Bolivia's case to Department of State and other officials. ¶3. (SBU) Iberkleid told Econoff September 18 that Garcia Linera pressed private sector representatives to immediately schedule follow-up meetings but later accepted Iberkleid's recommendation that businessmen delay their trip until after U.S. congressional elections, when congressmen might be willing to turn their attention to trade issues. Iberkleid said he planned to spend several weeks in Washington in November to lobby key members of Congress. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Garcia Linera may consider his trip a success, but he stopped short of any serious commitment to discussions of a long-term trade arrangement, preferring instead to focus on a less than certain ATPDEA extension. End comment. URS