ARGENTINA: GOVERNMENT SEEKS USG SUPPORT AGAINST

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 001032 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2024 TAGS: ECON PREL EFIN EINV ETRD AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: GOVERNMENT SEEKS USG SUPPORT AGAINST "G14" PROPOSAL REF: STATE 92560 Classified By: CDA Tom Kelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) During a meeting with Argentine Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Victorio Taccetti, who had convoked Charge d,Affaires on September 14 to discuss the Department of Labor's report on goods produced by child and force labor, Taccetti expressed concern about a proposal to marginalize the G20. He said that the Australian Prime Minister had called Argentine President Fernandez de Kirchner to mobilize their efforts against a proposal to give greater emphasis to the "G14" global economies, a grouping that would exclude both Argentina and Australia. ¶2. (C) Taccetti pointed to Italian and French efforts to promote the G14. Though he could only speculate on French President Sarkozy's motivations, Taccetti thought that it stemmed from an interest in heading off efforts to expand permanent membership in the UN Security Council by making the global economic grouping a bit more exclusive, thereby giving Brazil and India, for example, the sensation of greater influence. ¶3. (C) Taccetti warned that a G14, even if it included Mexico and Brazil, would be insufficient for representing Latin America. Mexico, he said, was too linked to the U.S. economy, while Brazil, due to its size and its distinct Portuguese background, represented its own global interests rather than those of the region. Argentina, he argued, was a more apt representative of the full range of Latin American countries. ¶4. (C) Taccetti concluded by saying that any strong U.S. statements in favor of sustaining the role and breadth of the G20 would be welcomed by the Government of Argentina. KELLY