Ambassador
Ambassador Gutierrez's Speech
THE UNITED STATES AND ARGENTINA IN 2005
Ambassador Lino Gutierrez’ remarks at the Harvard Club
March 3, 2005
Intro & Background:
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for this opportunity to speak to such a distinguished group of alumni. As you know, the Ambassador serves as the President’s personal representative to a foreign government and the country over which it presides. In this case, as I’m sure you’re aware, that means that I happen to be serving as the representative of one of your fellow alumnae – George W. Bush, who received his MBA from your school in 1975.
President Bush will be coming to Argentina in November to attend the Summit of the Americas. Since the earliest days of his administration, he has been interested in U.S. ties with Latin America – including, of course, Argentina. 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 great nations. This partnership is outlined by shared mutual interests and frequent joint actions, such as cooperating in regional problems with Bolivia and Haití, creating programs to combat narcotics trafficking, working together to help overcome Argentina’s economic problems, setting the stage for free trade, and so much more.
As encouraged as I’ve been by the progress so far, however, it seems to me that 2005 holds forth even more exciting prospects for a strengthened U.S.-Argentine relationship. With the Summit of the Americas being held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, numerous visits to the country from high-level U.S. officials, and much hoped-for progress on FTAA all on the horizon, we will find ourselves working side by side to assure the success of each of these events.
Since the U.S. established relations with Argentina in 1822, we have built a dynamic relationship in many areas. Although it is not always apparent, the similarities between our histories and foundations are quite strong, and contribute to our ability to work well together. One key to this is the question of what has motivated the individuals who make up our two societies. Both our nations share a desire to succeed as well as a desire to improve, since in both our cases, our founders were for the most part humble immigrants seeking opportunities to better their lives.
Certainly, after 180 years of diplomatic relations, there have been many times when our two nations didn’t see eye to eye. But both our nations have been and I believe still are wise enough to see that differences are transitory, while the similarities that unite us are more permanent. As President Kirchner pointed out, “it is entirely possible for two countries to disagree but still maintain a broad, mature, serious relationship.”
I am sure that given Presidents Bush and Kirchner’s shared goal to improve and strengthen our relationship, 2005 will be another great year in bilateral relations.
U.S. Policy Aim:
I’d like to focus a bit more directly on the state of relations between our two nations. I’ve been advised to stay away from anything controversial; so I’ve abandoned Plan A, which was to read from our Consular Information Sheet.
But seriously . . .
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. 2005 offers a flood of opportunities to do just that.
Democratic Progress:
Promoting and protecting democracy is of basic 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, particularly in addressing the Venezuelan referendum, 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 maintain a close cooperation, 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. Given the importance of trade to the region, it is not surprising that the progress of the Free Trade of the Americas agreement is gaining momentum.
Currently, roughly half of Latin America lives in poverty, a poverty that must be alleviated – and hopefully, eradicated -- through sustained economic growth. The FTAA 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 creating our 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 counterterrorism 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 a perfect 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.
Our relationship with Argentina is one of the most advanced and important in the Americas. Hopefully, that vibrant bilateral relationship can serve as an example to other summit nations. 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.
The summit is also a perfect forum for an open and candid discussion of free trade and job creation through the FTAA and the Doha Development Agenda. In today’s complex world we often forget that our neighbors, most of whom are undergoing similar experiences, can provide some of the most constructive input to help us achieve our goals.
Working together, the nations of this hemisphere have the chance to not only outline but take the necessary steps to sustain the region’s current economic growth and reach our ultimate goals of increasing employment, raising real wages, and reducing poverty steadily throughout the entire region.
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:
As you all are now well aware, this year is going to be a busy one 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.