SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS: AMBASSADOR MORALES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000273 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/SCO AND USOAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV ENGR PREL ETRD EFIN EAGR SUBJECT: SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS: AMBASSADOR MORALES CONSULTATIONS WITH GOB Classified By: DCM Lisa Kubiske. REASON: 1.5 (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On March 6, USG Summit of the Americas (SOA) Coordinator Ambassador Hector Morales met with a team from the Brazilian Ministry for External Relations (MRE) led by Secretary General for Political Affairs Ambassador Vera Machado and including Brazilian Summit Coordinator Carlos Duarte. Discussion focused on the environment leading up to the Summit as well as approaches to unresolved portions of the Summit Statement, particularly those addressing trade, food security and biofuels. The Brazilian side was optimistic about the Summit and did not believe any country planned to derail the process or the event. The Brazilians also agreed to consider USG proposals for way forward on these points and promised a response before the preparatory meeting the week of March 16. While the Brazilians were not ready to offer specific comments in Summit issues, they indicated a strong desire to work with the U.S. for a positive result and were clearly impressed by USG willingness to balance various country positions and demonstrate flexibility as well as U.S. willingness to conduct bilateral consultations. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Ambassador Morales framed the discussion of SOA issues by commenting on his visits to Chile and Argentina, both of whose governments had agreed that it would be important to complete the Declaration before the Summit. Given the length of the current draft, however, both supported the concept of a short preambular document or Leaders, Declaration that would give a succinct political statement regarding Summit priorities, particularly the need to work together to address the global economic crisis. Such a document, however, would need to be negotiated after completing the main Summit Declaration. Morales continued by highlighting key issues for closing more of the paragraphs of the Summit statement -- including energy, labor, the environment, trade, food security, human rights, civil society, democracy - and presented the Brazilians with U.S. suggestions for language to resolve these points as a way to move forward on all these points. The Brazilian side noted that it would be important to work with other countries, particularly Venezuela, and they were prepared to do that. ¶3. (C) The Brazilians said that they shared U.S. views about the importance of the SOA and that the attendance of President Obama had raised expectations significantly. Brazil can support a short declaration of Summit principles in addition to the main Declaration. Ambassador Machado noted that Brazil remained concerned about attempts to link food security with biofuels and about potential increased protectionism in response to economic pressures. Duarte added that he did not think any participating state would "throw bombs" or attempt to derail the Summit or the Declaration, but that considerable work remained to reconcile differing national positions. Finally, the Brazilians mentioned that "someone" may raise the issue of including Cuba in the SOA process. Morales responded that the U.S. would be prepared to address this issue when raised. ¶4. (C) In discussing USG suggestions for closing a package of paragraphs for the Summit statement, Morales noted that we were trying to strike a balance between the priorities of many different countries, but in order to achieve progress, the paragraphs had to move as a whole. Suggestions for paragraphs 7 and 7B included mention of the vulnerability of smaller economies without advocating special and differentiated treatment that would lead to exceptions from transparent, rules-based trade. Similarly, he indicated that the U.S. would be prepared to accept language on food security and food crises without creating a new standard of "food sovereignty." He also argues for language on biofuels that did not presume a social., economic or environmental "impact" or a link to food security. While the Brazilians could not provide a coordinated position immediately, Duarte commented positively on U.S. combination of paragraphs and attempt to balance interests. He also noted that, although the U.S. suggestions would not resolve everything, it was a welcome proposal that would create positive momentum and was the type of approach that needs to be taken at this stage. According to Duarte, the Brazilians will need to review the trade language carefully before accepting, but would be inclined to support the U.S. approach. He noted, however, that "others," meaning Venezuela, might find the U.S. language on biofuels difficult, but he also said that our willingness to accept food security would certainly help reach consensus. ¶5. (C) EMBASSY COMMENT. As expected, the Brazilians were BRASILIA 00000273 002 OF 002 cautious in their responses to U.S. proposals. There has been, however, a marked increase in Brazilian focus on the SOA over the past weeks. Duarte stated that there were now "high expectations" for a Summit to chart a course of hemispheric cooperation, a major shift for a government which in December downplayed the SOA in favor of the Bahia Summit of South American and Caribbean states. Although Brazilian and U.S. interests coincide on most remaining issues with the Summit statement, the Brazilians remain cautious to engage in support of U.S. initiatives, i.e. the energy partnership. They were, however, clearly impressed by U.S. willingness to engage bilaterally and to consult with them on the possible way forward. ¶6. (U) Ambassador Morales cleared this cable. KUBISKE