PERUVIAN PRIVATE SECTOR GEARS UP FOUR-WEEK

S E C R E T LIMA 001473

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2016
TAGS: PROG PREL ETRD PE
SUBJECT: PERUVIAN PRIVATE SECTOR GEARS UP FOUR-WEEK
INFORMATION CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE THE PERU TRADE PROMOTION
AGREEMENT

Classified By: Political Counselor Alexander Margulies. Reason: 1.4(d)
.

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SUMMARY
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1. (S) A marketing consultant hired by top Peruvian
business sector leaders to design and implement a four-week
public information campaign to promote the Peru Trade
Promotion Agreement (PTPA) provided a briefing to the
Ambassador and Emboffs on 4/6. The consultant explained that
the campaign will begin on 4/25 and run through 5/19. It
will be based on the slogan "TLC Ya" ("FTA Now") and has been
fashioned to address the public's ignorance and
misperceptions of the PTPA, based on insights obtained from a
private poll carried out by the Apoyo consultancy and 30
focus groups run throughout Peru among the C-E sectors
(lower-middle class through destitute - 88 percent of the
population). "TLC Ya" will feature TV spot ads, TV and radio
news reports and newspaper coverage. The consultant
emphasized that there is little understanding among the
Peruvian public of the potential impact of the Andean Trade
Promotion and Drug Eradication Act's (ATPDEA) termination,
and noted that addressing that knowledge gap would be a key
focus of the first week of the campaign. He strongly
recommended that the USG continue to send clear signals that
ATPDEA will not be extended so that the Peruvian general
population understand that it is PTPA or nothing. He said
that the private sector has concluded that the second round
of presidential elections will not come until May 28 at the
earliest, and perhaps as late as June 4, which would put a
Peruvian Congressional vote on the PTPA in June. These
assumptions shaped the thinking on timing of their campaign.
End Summary

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POLL AND FOCUS GROUPS RAISE CONCERNS
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2. (S) The consultant provided the Ambassador with a copy
of Apoyo poll results dated 3/19, which showed only 28
percent approval of the PTPA, with a 32 percent disapproval
rating nationwide, and 35 percent answering they did not know
about the accord. (Comment: The Apoyo poll puts support
substantially lower than Datum polls which register 53
percent approval. We are analyzing why this is so. End
Comment.) 30 focus groups were carried out in Lima, Piura,
Chiclayo, Arequipa and Huancayo, consisting of men and women
18-60 years of age, all from the C-E social groups, which
revealed the following lines of thought:

-- Great lack of understanding of the PTPA: Although many
participants said they had heard of the PTPA, few could
describe accurately what it really is. Descriptions ran from
a relatively accurate &an agreement between two governments
(but without details) to an agreement for Peruvians to export
only to the US.

-- Logic of the Loser: Many participants felt "little Peru"
had no chance when dealing with the US. There was a feeling
expressed that the US would buy up the best products and
leave only the lowest quality for the Peruvian domestic
market. "The US will buy up our products to re-sell them to
other countries," was another line of thought.

-- The US has a secret agenda: "The US will never lose" and
they are going to take our raw materials and send us more
expensive finished goods," were common complaints.

-- Why such a hurry? There was widespread questioning of
why the Toledo government was in such a hurry to sign the
PTPA, with the lingering suspicion that Toledo was pushing
for ratification so he could get a commission from the USG
before he left office.

-- The good with the bad: "We want to know the truth, the
good with the bad," was one strong sentiment identifiable in


the focus groups.

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ADDRESSING CONCERNS AND CONSEQUENCES OF NO PTPA
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3. (S) The consultant explained that his recommended
publicity campaign would use TV ads already produced by the
Foreign Trade Ministry (MINCETUR),which have not been aired
because of restrictions on GOP advertising during the
election campaign restrictions. The MINCETUR TV spots show
export success stories, including small and
micro-enterprises. The private sector ad campaign will go
beyond them to inform the public about the details of the
PTPA and the consequences of ATPDEA ending without a new,
replacement agreement. The consultant said that the MINCETUR
TV ads were good, but based on a mistaken premise that most
Peruvians understood the basic concept of a free trade
agreement. Thus, they focus only on the benefits of the
PTPA, and do not address suspicions and gaps in
understanding. Because of this, the ads are often perceived
as manipulative and not convincing. The low public
acceptance of the Peruvian Government and business sector
also led test audiences to discount the MINCETUR message.


4. (S) The consultant continued that the business sector's
nationwide campaign would:

-- Be run in the name of the CENI, the private sector group
formed by MINCETUR to monitor and participate in the PTPA
negotiations.

-- Feature more rural spokespersons, to identify with the C,
D and E social groups and avoid being labeled as a Lima/big
business effort.

-- Use the slogan "TLC Ya!" to emphasize that the PTPA is
needed now, in order to head off problems when the ATPDEA
ends.

-- Include considerable background on ATPDEA and why it is
essential to have a replacement agreement in place when
ATPDEA ends. "There is no return to a status quo ante, there
will just be no trade preferences."

-- Focus on TV and radio news and weekly magazine programs,
because they have reach and credibility. The owners of the
four largest TV networks were in favor of the PTPA and
willing to help, as were most of their key on-air
journalistic personalities. The TV news and weekly magazine
programs would feature information on the PTPA several times
a week.

-- RPP radio, Peru,s largest radio network, would run daily
6-7 minute morning programs with basic information and
interviews with local export success stories. Local radio
stations in major cities would also run daily morning "TLC
2006" programs with about 12-15 minutes of information and
views on the PTPA.

-- Business groups would place pro-PTPA ads in newspapers
with large readership in the B, C, D and E social groups, and
pamphlets would be produced and distributed targeting the
same social groups.


5. (S) The consultant said that the campaign needed only
two things from the USG and the Embassy:

-- Continued high-level USG statements that ATPDEA will
definitely end on December 31, 2006, and that there is no way
it would be extended.

-- Assistance in arranging interviews for Peruvian TV in
Washington with USG spokespersons, Senators and members of
Congress to repeat the ATPDEA-is-ending messaged.

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COMMENT


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6. (S) The private sector ad campaign will play a vital
role in generating public acceptance for Peru's ratification
of the PTPA. It can also exercise positive influence in the
ongoing presidential election campaign, where
ultra-nationalist "outsider" candidate Ollanta Humala, who
opposes the PTPA, will contend in a second-round run-off with
either Lourdes Flores or Alan Garcia, both of whom support
the free trade agreement with the U.S. We agree with the
consultant that a consistent USG position that ATPDEA will
end on 12/31/06 is essential to maintain momentum for PTPA
ratification here. PAS is providing assistance in arranging
the interviews requested for the campaign. END COMMENT.
STRUBLE