Embassy of the United States

Ambassador

Ambassador Gutierrez's Speeches

THE UNITED STATES AND ARGENTINA IN 2005
Ambassador Lino Gutierrez’ Remarks at the Columbia Alumni Club
April 5, 2005

Introduction:

Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for inviting me to be with you this afternoon.

As most of you know, at about this time last week, Presidents Bush and Kirchner shared a serious but friendly phone call.  That conversation epitomizes where the U.S.-Argentine relation stands today.

In it, the presidents agreed on the need for Argentina to prosper, and for this country to continue to play the valuable role it has assumed in helping provide stability in the hemisphere.  On most points, they likewise agreed on goals and next steps; where there were differences, those were stated in an attitude of mutual respect. Both presidents looked forward to the upcoming summit of the Americas meeting Argentina will host in November, and agreed that it marks a chance to significantly move forward toward continued progress in consolidating democracy and prosperity in the New World.

President Bush’s interest in Latin America is not new.  It dates from he earliest days of his administration.  The same can be said of his interest in your country.  Our support for Argentina in the IMF negotiations was one significant indication of that interest; that was a personal decision made by President Bush.  Since the beginning of President Kirchner’s administration, there have been repeated contacts, beginning with a phone call to incoming President Kirchner the morning of his inauguration and, a few weeks later, a visit of then Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Our interest in close ties with Argentina will continue.  And those links are not only government-to-government.  As I have noted before, U.S. business, academic, scientific, travel, and other activities have long been present in this country, and the focus by those and other U.S. sectors on your country has only strengthened.

In my position, I’ve been most directly concerned with increasing cooperation between our two governments.  I have been most gratified by the extensive teamwork between our two nations.  We hope that this partnership will be strengthened in 2005 and last well beyond this November’s Summit.

U.S. Policy Aims:

Let me zero in a bit more directly on the state of relations between our two nations.

The United States and the Bush Administration feel that the most important U.S. goals in this hemisphere are to promote democracy and good governance, stimulate economic development, and strengthen regional security.  In all three areas, we try to blend our desire to promote peace and democracy with concrete issues such as education and trade agreements. In the case of Argentina, our policy is aimed at supporting and helping the country while it takes the necessary steps to make its incredible potential a reality.

Democratic Progress:

Promoting and protecting democracy is of fundamental importance to the U.S. In our experience, democratic nations are more interested in solving their own internal problems than creating problems for others.  My government truly appreciates the fact that a country as important and influential as Argentina has shown by word and deed that it takes the same view.  Often we have worked together in this area through joint or complementary actions, including sending troops to Haiti and trying to help assure the survival of a democratic system in Venezuela and Bolivia.

Here in this country, to reinforce the democratic values so important to Argentines, we have been providing Argentine NGOs with information and seminars on democracy, justice reform, corporate social responsibility, and ways to reduce the plague of corruption.  We have been helping government institutions also, such as the Anti-Corruption Office. Newly appointed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asserts, “In much of Latin America, we face the twin challenges of helping to bolster democratic ideals and institutions, and alleviating poverty. We will work with reformers in those regions who are committed to increasing opportunity for their peoples.” To this end, Argentina and the U.S. have worked tirelessly to assure that no country in Latin America is failing to provide its citizens with honest and free elections and leaders who genuinely believe in the power of democracy and freedom.

In addition to ensuring democracy in other countries, internally both countries have been on the forefront of the war against terrorism and narcotics trafficking. Just a few weeks ago, in fact, the United States handed over 11 cars to the Argentine government to be used for drug surveillance purposes – just the latest example of the ongoing effort between the two countries.

Economic Progress:

In the economic arena, the U.S. and Argentina work together fairly closely, always on the lookout to encourage trade and investment. The U.S. was happy to support Argentina in its most recent dealings with the IMF.  We saw it as in nobody’s interest to have an economically paralyzed Argentina.  The recent growth and recovery of this country’s economy is good news for everyone.

That growth can be further increased through making Argentina even friendlier to investors.  Already there are about 100 U.S. companies in Argentina.

Growth can also be increased by wise choices in setting up free trade regimes.   Trade is of vital – and growing – importance to this hemisphere.  Last year alone the U.S. purchased $217 billion in products from Latin America, not to mention our direct investment in the region totaling $304 billion.  Trade between the U.S. and Latin America is becoming more important. In fact, it is estimated that trade between the U.S. and Latin America will soon overtake the amount of trade between the U.S. and Europe.

Currently, roughly half of Latin America lives in poverty, a poverty that must be alleviated – and hopefully, eradicated -- through sustained economic growth. The Free Trade Area of the Americas will be key to achieving this growth.  As former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick noted, “We are moving the FTAA into a new phase. We are negotiating it, not just seeking it.”

Implementation of FTAA will bring increased growth from trade, new jobs that will help close the income gap, greater economic stability to help head off financial crises, and increased government revenue to be used to improve basic education and health services. We only need to look as far as Mexico to see the positive implications of free trade.   After NAFTA went into effect, Mexico went from being ranked 36th in exports to 8th and gained over 3.5 million trade related jobs in less than 10 years.

Your neighbor Chile is another excellent example of the benefits of free trade agreements.  A recent Andres Oppenheimer column in “La Nacion” noted that Chilean exports to the U.S. rose by 31% in the year since our bilateral free trade agreement with that country went into effect.

Foreign Minister Bielsa has said that his government wants FTAA, but only an FTAA that meets Argentina’s needs.  I hope it will come as no surprise to you to discover that that is what my government wants, too.  Any region-wide trade agreement ought to deal fairly and thoroughly with the concerns of all those who will take part; any trade agreement that does not do so is doomed to die a quick death, since no one will want to participate.

Working closely with the Argentine government, we hope both sides will be able to reap the benefits of a far-reaching and mutually beneficial trade agreement by the end of this year.

Security:
 
Our two nations’ remarkable relationship permits us to cooperatively address a broad range of security issues. The most important security issue for both Argentina and the U.S. is counter-terrorism.  Argentina is the only Western Hemisphere country outside of the U.S. to have suffered devastating attacks launched by international terrorist groups.

One means of addressing these attacks is by through the 3 + 1 regional cooperation mechanism to fight terrorism, money laundering, and drug and arms trafficking in the Tri-Border area of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.  The cooperation we have received from Argentine authorities in this area could not be better, and is very deeply appreciated by my government.

It is our goal to work with willing, capable and serious partners, and if necessary, to provide the material assistance needed to improve their counter-terrorism capabilities.  Because if there is one lesson we learned from 9/11, it is that no country is immune to being designated a target by international terrorism.

I also want to highlight Argentina's important role in another area.  Argentina has peacekeeping forces serving in five UN Missions around the world, including Haiti.  But what makes Argentina’s participation unique is that you have done all of this despite incredible economic and financial constraints.  This is a true sign of Argentina’s seriousness about its role in maintaining world peace – a sign that I can assure you is highly valued in Washington.

Summit of the Americas:

The Summit of the Americas in Argentina this coming November will be an excellent opportunity for our two countries to share our strong belief in the free market system as a vehicle to providing jobs and improving living conditions in America.  It will also be an opportunity to continue our joint commitment to upholding democracy and human rights.  I believe that the ability of Presidents Bush and Kirchner to collaborate on many fronts will be an important element to the success of the summit.

This year’s theme of the summit, “Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance,” comes at an ideal time, since economic growth in Latin America in 2004 was the highest in 25 years. There is no better time than now to take the necessary measures to achieve faster growth, more jobs (particularly in the private sector), and higher wages.

Certainly, we understand that creating jobs is not always an easy and simple process, and at present about 44 percent of the Argentine population is under the poverty line, compared to only 22% 10 years ago. But this summit will allow us an opportunity to discuss how we, as a region, can work together to achieve rapid development and find solutions to overcome obstacles on the path to prosperity.

If all the nations of this region can work together as effectively as our two nations have in so many areas, I am confident that we can meet this challenge and make the Summit a success for Argentina and the Americas.

Conclusion:

This will be a busy year for our two nations. Some view changing circumstances as problems; others view them as opportunities.  Let’s take the optimistic view, and focus on the diverse bilateral policy menu as a plethora of excellent opportunities to make our joint goals a reality. We will undoubtedly have disagreements on the road to getting things done.  But if friends agree on a goal, they can find a way to overcome differences in how to reach that objective.  I believe that our countries’ shared fundamental desire to improve democracy and human well-being will prevail.  The Summit of the Americas that Argentina is hosting will be key in making that happen.

Between now and the Summit I’m sure we’ll have plenty of other opportunities to work productively together.  The topics I’ve mentioned --combating terrorism, reducing trade barriers, and protecting democracy in the hemisphere and abroad -- are only some of the most pressing issues before us.  Working together, I’m sure we can find solutions amenable to both our countries.  For my part, I am honored to be a part of such a strong and positive relationship.  I have no doubts that, thanks to that relationship, 2005 will be another great year for U.S./Argentine relations.