Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SANSALVADOR2181
2006-09-06 20:55:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy San Salvador
Cable title:
SALVADORAN PAYMENT OF IATTC DUES AND LETTER FOR SECRETARY
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHSN #2181/01 2492055 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 062055Z SEP 06 FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3652 INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 0641 RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 6289 RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 002181
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIS SENV ES
SUBJECT: SALVADORAN PAYMENT OF IATTC DUES AND LETTER FOR SECRETARY
RICE
REF: STATE 137743
UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 002181
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIS SENV ES
SUBJECT: SALVADORAN PAYMENT OF IATTC DUES AND LETTER FOR SECRETARY
RICE
REF: STATE 137743
1. (U) SUMMARY: Econoff delivered reftel demarche on non-payment of
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Comission (IATTC) contributions to the
Center for the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CENDEPESCA)
director Manuel Fermin Oliva and Fisheries Coordinator Sonia
Salavarria. They understand the need for the payment, but could not
say when El Salvador will pay, citing budgetary issues and the
timing of the fiscal year as well as the cost of the program. Oliva
and Salavarria also provided copies of letters addressed to
Secretary Rice and Secretary of Commerce on dolphin safe tuna
SIPDIS
labeling requirements. The letters are to be presented by the
Embassies of the signatory countries in Washington at a date to be
determined. The letters have not been officially released by the
parties and should be handled accordingly. END SUMMARY.
2. (U) Econoff met with CENDEPESCA director Manuel Fermin Oliva and
with the Fisheries Coordinator Sonia Salavarria to discuss the
non-payment of contributions to the IATTC for FY2006. Oliva said
the funds have to be requested from the Ministry of Finance, which
is currently working on next year's budget, and Oliva said they will
wait for a more opportune time to request the funds. No partial
payments have been made; Oliva and Salavarria are confident El
Salvador will pay but cannot say when. Another issue for CENDEPESCA
is the timing of the fiscal year for the IATTC, which is different
than the calendar year based system used in El Salvador,
complicating the payment process.
3. (U) Oliva and Salavarria reaffirmed their interest in
participating in the IATTC and the Agreement on the International
Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP),and the importance of these
programs for maintaining the Eastern Pacific Ocean ecosystem. They
also spoke about the rising costs of the IATTC, the structure of the
organization, and that there could come a point where El Salvador
would not be able to pay steadily rising contribution levels. They
said to offset rising costs the organization should look at ways to
cut overhead, including the possible movement of the office from La
Jolla, California to a lower cost location.
4. (SBU) Salavarria provided econoff with copies of identical
letters addressed to Secretary Rice and Secretary of Commerce
Gutierrez which focus on the dolphin safe tuna label and problems
faced by exporters seeking to enter the U.S. tuna market. Originals
of these letters will be delivered in Washington by the embassies of
the interested parties on a date to be determined. These copies
have not been approved for release by the interested parties, so
please handle accordingly. The following is an unofficial
translation of letters, copies of which will be faxed to WHA/CEN and
OES/OMC.
Begin Text
El Salvador, August 23, 2006
It is a pleasure to greet you and, at the same time, we refer to you
an issue that is of utmost importance to our nations in the
fisheries, environmental and socioeconomic areas as they relate to
tuna fishing, dolphin conservation and the protection of the
maritime ecosystem of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
As you know, since we have addressed this issue with your government
in the past, 15 countries including the United States of America,
have subscribed to the Agreement on the International Dolphin
Conservation Program (AIDCP),which has served to successfully
promote responsible fishery practices, effectively achieving, with
transparency and scientific information, both the sustainability of
the tuna fishery and the integral protection of the different
species of the maritime ecosystem, especially dolphins, with that
said, this Agreement has achieved recognition from international
organizations such as the United Nations Organization for Food and
Agriculture (FAO) and well known environmental NGOs, among others.
The countries that are members of the Agreement on the International
Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) have committed since 1991 to
the implementation of the "dolphin safe" concept that is within the
subscribed fishery agreements, and even though the United States has
conducted activities to comply with its commitments, including its
participation in the judicial process, to date, there is a different
"dolphin safe" definition to that of the Agreement, which prevents
the effective access of our tuna products and limits the
implementation of the free trade agreements that have been signed
with your country.
The adoption and implementation in the United States of the "dolphin
safe" concept that is established would not only maintain the APICD
but also will provide an effective access to the U.S. market,
removing unfair trade barriers.
Despite the continuous efforts that our governments and industries
have made to comply with the Agreement, the acceptance of tuna in
the United States is significantly limited if it lacks the "dolphin
safe" certification. Without which, discriminates and impedes sales
on an equal basis, affects the competitiveness of our products in
the U.S. market and generates a negative impact in the development
of our fishery industries, since the U.S. market is the objective of
many of the countries signing this letter.
We consider that while the internal process continues in the United
States to implement the "dolphin safe" concept, which has been going
on for more than 10 years now, we cannot continue to allow it to
affect our tuna fisheries development; thus we request the
administration of the United States to disclose publicly before the
relevant private entities of your country related to the sales of
tuna, the official position of your government on this issue.
This would contribute significantly to stop the continued
deterioration of our industries resulting from the perception that
the tuna fishing industry in our countries is not sustainable and
does not respect the maritime environment and that the U.S.
government is opposed to it. This in light of the fact that U.S.
commercial companies on many occasions have shown their interest in
purchasing the product but only if it is consistent with the policy
of their own government.
We consider that the above can be accomplished through informative
events in the United States, like the ones that have successfully
taken place in other parts of the APICD, conducted under the
organization and leadership of the government of the host country.
For that, our countries are in the best disposition to support such
events. We hope that the events could start in Washington D.C., on
the soonest date possible.
Sincerely,
Hector Hernandez Amador
Agriculture and Livestock Secretary
Honduras
Mario E. Salaverria
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
El Salvador
Mario Salvo Horvilleur
Agriculture and Forestry Minister
Nicaragua
Bernardo Lopez
Vice Minister of Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources and Food
Guatemala
Guillermo Salazar N.
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development
Panama
Mario Castellanos
Secretary of State
SIPDIS
Belize
Javier Trujillo Arriaga
SENASICA/SAGARPA Director
Mexico
Leandro Mercedes
Agriculture Under Secretary
Dominican Republic
End Text.
Barclay
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIS SENV ES
SUBJECT: SALVADORAN PAYMENT OF IATTC DUES AND LETTER FOR SECRETARY
RICE
REF: STATE 137743
1. (U) SUMMARY: Econoff delivered reftel demarche on non-payment of
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Comission (IATTC) contributions to the
Center for the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CENDEPESCA)
director Manuel Fermin Oliva and Fisheries Coordinator Sonia
Salavarria. They understand the need for the payment, but could not
say when El Salvador will pay, citing budgetary issues and the
timing of the fiscal year as well as the cost of the program. Oliva
and Salavarria also provided copies of letters addressed to
Secretary Rice and Secretary of Commerce on dolphin safe tuna
SIPDIS
labeling requirements. The letters are to be presented by the
Embassies of the signatory countries in Washington at a date to be
determined. The letters have not been officially released by the
parties and should be handled accordingly. END SUMMARY.
2. (U) Econoff met with CENDEPESCA director Manuel Fermin Oliva and
with the Fisheries Coordinator Sonia Salavarria to discuss the
non-payment of contributions to the IATTC for FY2006. Oliva said
the funds have to be requested from the Ministry of Finance, which
is currently working on next year's budget, and Oliva said they will
wait for a more opportune time to request the funds. No partial
payments have been made; Oliva and Salavarria are confident El
Salvador will pay but cannot say when. Another issue for CENDEPESCA
is the timing of the fiscal year for the IATTC, which is different
than the calendar year based system used in El Salvador,
complicating the payment process.
3. (U) Oliva and Salavarria reaffirmed their interest in
participating in the IATTC and the Agreement on the International
Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP),and the importance of these
programs for maintaining the Eastern Pacific Ocean ecosystem. They
also spoke about the rising costs of the IATTC, the structure of the
organization, and that there could come a point where El Salvador
would not be able to pay steadily rising contribution levels. They
said to offset rising costs the organization should look at ways to
cut overhead, including the possible movement of the office from La
Jolla, California to a lower cost location.
4. (SBU) Salavarria provided econoff with copies of identical
letters addressed to Secretary Rice and Secretary of Commerce
Gutierrez which focus on the dolphin safe tuna label and problems
faced by exporters seeking to enter the U.S. tuna market. Originals
of these letters will be delivered in Washington by the embassies of
the interested parties on a date to be determined. These copies
have not been approved for release by the interested parties, so
please handle accordingly. The following is an unofficial
translation of letters, copies of which will be faxed to WHA/CEN and
OES/OMC.
Begin Text
El Salvador, August 23, 2006
It is a pleasure to greet you and, at the same time, we refer to you
an issue that is of utmost importance to our nations in the
fisheries, environmental and socioeconomic areas as they relate to
tuna fishing, dolphin conservation and the protection of the
maritime ecosystem of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
As you know, since we have addressed this issue with your government
in the past, 15 countries including the United States of America,
have subscribed to the Agreement on the International Dolphin
Conservation Program (AIDCP),which has served to successfully
promote responsible fishery practices, effectively achieving, with
transparency and scientific information, both the sustainability of
the tuna fishery and the integral protection of the different
species of the maritime ecosystem, especially dolphins, with that
said, this Agreement has achieved recognition from international
organizations such as the United Nations Organization for Food and
Agriculture (FAO) and well known environmental NGOs, among others.
The countries that are members of the Agreement on the International
Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) have committed since 1991 to
the implementation of the "dolphin safe" concept that is within the
subscribed fishery agreements, and even though the United States has
conducted activities to comply with its commitments, including its
participation in the judicial process, to date, there is a different
"dolphin safe" definition to that of the Agreement, which prevents
the effective access of our tuna products and limits the
implementation of the free trade agreements that have been signed
with your country.
The adoption and implementation in the United States of the "dolphin
safe" concept that is established would not only maintain the APICD
but also will provide an effective access to the U.S. market,
removing unfair trade barriers.
Despite the continuous efforts that our governments and industries
have made to comply with the Agreement, the acceptance of tuna in
the United States is significantly limited if it lacks the "dolphin
safe" certification. Without which, discriminates and impedes sales
on an equal basis, affects the competitiveness of our products in
the U.S. market and generates a negative impact in the development
of our fishery industries, since the U.S. market is the objective of
many of the countries signing this letter.
We consider that while the internal process continues in the United
States to implement the "dolphin safe" concept, which has been going
on for more than 10 years now, we cannot continue to allow it to
affect our tuna fisheries development; thus we request the
administration of the United States to disclose publicly before the
relevant private entities of your country related to the sales of
tuna, the official position of your government on this issue.
This would contribute significantly to stop the continued
deterioration of our industries resulting from the perception that
the tuna fishing industry in our countries is not sustainable and
does not respect the maritime environment and that the U.S.
government is opposed to it. This in light of the fact that U.S.
commercial companies on many occasions have shown their interest in
purchasing the product but only if it is consistent with the policy
of their own government.
We consider that the above can be accomplished through informative
events in the United States, like the ones that have successfully
taken place in other parts of the APICD, conducted under the
organization and leadership of the government of the host country.
For that, our countries are in the best disposition to support such
events. We hope that the events could start in Washington D.C., on
the soonest date possible.
Sincerely,
Hector Hernandez Amador
Agriculture and Livestock Secretary
Honduras
Mario E. Salaverria
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
El Salvador
Mario Salvo Horvilleur
Agriculture and Forestry Minister
Nicaragua
Bernardo Lopez
Vice Minister of Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources and Food
Guatemala
Guillermo Salazar N.
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development
Panama
Mario Castellanos
Secretary of State
SIPDIS
Belize
Javier Trujillo Arriaga
SENASICA/SAGARPA Director
Mexico
Leandro Mercedes
Agriculture Under Secretary
Dominican Republic
End Text.
Barclay