ANDEAN LEADERS TO WASHINGTON TO LOBBY FOR ATPA

UNCLAS LIMA 002150 SIPDIS SIPDIS USTR FOR EEISENSTAT AND BHARMAN COMMERCE FOR 4331/IEP/WH/MCAMERON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD OVIP ECIN PREL USTR PE CO EC BL SUBJECT: ANDEAN LEADERS TO WASHINGTON TO LOBBY FOR ATPA EXTENSION? ¶1. Freddy Ehlers, Secretary General of the Andean Community (CAN),informed the Ambassador on June 19 that he was attempting to organize a joint visit to Washington by the presidents of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador to lobby for extension of the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA). Ehlers said the four presidents had agreed to this at the suggestion of Alvaro Uribe during the June 12-14 CAN Summit in Tarija, Bolivia. Ehlers noted the likely dates for this visit would be June 22 or June 25, and that he was coordinating with the four foreign ministries to try to make the trip happen. He said the fallback option was for Ehlers himself to travel in representation of the four countries. If Ehlers travels, he will also request meetings with the executive branch, including USTR, to discuss options for minimizing the impact of any eventual gaps in ATPA coverage. ¶2. Ehlers asked if the State Department could assist in obtaining the appropriate high-level meetings with U.S. congressional leaders. The Ambassador replied that these requests are usually channeled through the foreign embassies in Washington, and recommended that Ehlers contact the four embassies to see which one would be best able to make the appointment requests. ¶3. COMMENT: The CAN has unsuccessfully attempted to organize a joint Washington visit by the presidents of the four ATPA countries in the past. As happened once before, this attempt is likely to fall apart due to difficulties in coordinating agendas and obtaining meetings worthy of four chiefs of state, resulting in the Secretary General being dispatched instead. STRUBLE