US Department of State Dispatch,
Vol 1, No 9, October 29, 1990
Title: One Year Later: Update on Andean Drug Strategy
Levitsky
Source: Melvyn Levitsky, Assistant Secretary for
International Narcotics Matters (INM)
Description: Address before the Task Force on International
Narcotics Control, House Foreign Affairs Committee,
Washington, DC
Date: Oct 10, 199010/10/90
Category: Speeches, Testimony, Statements
Region: South America
Country: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru
Subject: Narcotics
[TEXT]
On behalf of my colleagues who have joined me today, let me
express our appreciation for the opportunity to appear before the
House task force to review with you the status of the Andean
strategy, the Cartagena summit, and compliance on various legal
requirements. We believe that congressional understanding and
support for the counter-narcotics effort is essential to the effort
and a component in its success.
Let me start by reviewing where we stand in implementing
the Andean strategy in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Following a
general summary, I would like to review highlights of country
programs, bring you up to date on developments since the Cartagena
summit, and conclude with brief remarks on certain compliance
issues.
The administration announced the Andean initiative a year ago.
There has been progress in some areas and less in others, but we
are convinced that we have the right approach. We have developed
an integrated program that combines economic assistance and
military and law enforcement efforts in a phased plan that takes
into consideration the range of complexities inherent in dealing
with the drug issue. We are moving ahead, but we still have a long
way to go.
As we begin the second fiscal year of this effort, we need to
look at where we have come from and where we are going. As called
for in the President's strategy, decisions on resources for FY [fiscal
year] 1991 will be based upon the results of such a review. This
evaluation is still underway, but we are happy to share with the
Congress our preliminary views.
We have come a long way in the past year. We have taken the
idea of an integrated counter-narcotics strategy and brought
together all of the involved executive branch agencies to develop
plans with the three Andean governments aimed at implementing
efforts to dismantle the drug trafficking organizations.
There have been notable achievements in many areas. New,
democratically elected governments in each of the three Andean
nations have repeatedly voiced their commitments to the counter-
narcotics struggle, and they have each taken steps, in cooperation
with the United States, to meet the challenge. Together, we have
worked to use intelligence better to focus our efforts on higher-
level targets, moving away from a primary focus on eradication
programs and low-level interdiction efforts. We have supported the
internal programs of the three states to improve the operational
capabilities of their law enforcement and military forces engaged
in the drug war. These programs have resulted in increased
seizures and pressure on the trafficking organizations. We have
involved our own military to enhance detection and monitoring in
the approaches to the United States, forcing the traffickers to
disperse their activities. We have seen increased seizures, arrests,
confiscation of assets, and signs of disarray within the trafficking
organizations.
We have helped to improve counter-narcotics cooperation with
the police in all three countries. We have assisted the armed forces
in Colombia to assume a more vigorous role, as have elements in the
Bolivian air force and navy, which have produced some of the most
dramatic seizures in recent years. There are encouraging signs that
our air interdiction efforts have hampered the easy movement of
drugs by air directly to the United States. We have not, however,
limited our efforts to interdiction.
We also have looked to economic assistance programs.
Scheduled to begin this year, they are designed to provide a mix of
activities to assist the Andean governments and people. These
include macroeconomic efforts and more focused efforts to give
those people involved in coca production a viable economic
alternative. Of course, the question remains as to whether and how
the Congress will authorize and appropriate narcotics-related
economics assistance and whether overall economic assistance
funds will be earmarked in such a way as to reduce the amount
available to our counter-narcotics programs.
Several areas, however, pose problems in implementing an
effective narcotics control program in the Andean region. We are
continuing our efforts to have a positive influence in these areas,
keeping in mind that we are working on an issue that ultimately
affects fragile social, economic and political institutions of
sovereign countries.
-- We are working with law enforcement agencies to increase
substantially the pace of laboratory destruction and cocaine
seizures. Our goal in this area is to improve performance of host
country interdiction operations to a point that eliminates cocaine
traffic destined for the US and European markets.
-- We are developing new international mechanisms to
address money laundering and the flow of precursor and essential
chemicals.
-- We are seeking better programs to use seized assets for
counter-narcotics purposes. We are establishing projects to
overcome institutional weaknesses in the legal and judicial
systems that enable traffickers to regain these assets.
-- We are striving to develop cooperative programs to deal
with allegations of violations of human rights and corruption. Our
counter-narcotics projects include provisions for end use
monitoring of equipment.
We knew at the outset, however, that our effort to address
these problems in all their complexity was not going to be easy or
over quickly. We knew it was going to require a multi-year effort
and sustained cooperation between all elements of the US
government.
As we move into the second year of the Andean
implementation plan, we are building on the FY 1990 plan, which
involved strengthening of political will, military and law
enforcement effectiveness, and the targeting of trafficking
organizations. Working in close coordination with our missions in
Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru, we are developing sub-plans to address
specific problem areas such as judicial reform, public diplomacy,
air strategy, ground strategy, riverine strategy, coca containment,
control of precursor and essential chemicals, the targeting of drug
kingpins, money laundering, and economic support.
The intent of this effort, based on a continuing assessment of
the performance of the Andean states, is to carry forward the
progress we have made and address the shortcomings we have noted.
Knowing that we must sustain a vigorous program, we are
determined to pursue those efforts that have produced results,
reassess those that have not, and seek new approaches that will
enhance our chances of success.
I would like to turn now to a review of some of the specifics
of our efforts in each of the Andean states, noting progress and
difficulties.
The major successes of the President's Andean strategy to
date can be credited to the heroic efforts of Colombia, which
deserves the lion's share of the credit. At the same time, the
Bolivian government has collaborated in bilateral and multilateral
efforts to combat cocaine trafficking and has pursued economic
policies to put the country back on a sound footing. The newly
inaugurated Fujimori administration in Peru is working to overcome
the disruptive policies and practices of the past administration,
seeking to lay important groundwork for a comprehensive economic
and political strategy to address not only the narcotics problem but
the whole range of social and political difficulties that plague Peru.
Colombia
We estimate that Colombian trafficking organizations control some
80% of the cocaine processing industry in the Andes.
Colombia's progress in attacking these organizations exceeds
what we anticipated a year ago despite unrelenting pressure from
drug traffickers and insurgent groups. The government of Colombia
has acted forcefully to protect itself and preserve its democratic
institutions. US assistance has helped to sustain Colombia's
operational efforts and to focus them on key targets.
Colombian determination to target the leadership of the drug
cartels and their infrastructure, particularly cocaine processing
labs and air transportation nodes, has resulted in serious disruption
of the operations of the drug trafficking organizations. Both the
police and the military played active roles in counter-narcotics
activities in 1990, including one combined army and air force
operation against a distribution center called La Petrolera, which
seized 19 tons of cocaine. Extraditions to the United States
continued, reaching 22 people for the period of August 1989 to
August 1990. Disrupting these trafficker operations has a "trickle
down" effect of lowered demand for coca base and coca paste,
thereby influencing coca leaf prices in Peru and Bolivia.
While Colombian forces have inflicted significant damage on
the Medellin cartel, the Cali cartel as well as emerging new cartels
have not yet been targeted as aggressively. In addition, the
widespread violence continues in Medellin, and the environment of
threat and intimidation aimed at civilian leaders, judges, and the
law enforcement establishment continues to make life dangerous
for all citizens.
We are seeking to address this problem through the programs
outlined in our FY 1990 and FY 1991 submissions. Our FY 1990
counter-narcotics assistance to Colombia included the following:
-- $20 million in INM-funded programs to support the
Colombian National Police as the lead anti-narcotic force,
especially to sustain its field presence and air operations;
-- $71 million in FMF [foreign military financing] programs
to provide equipment, services and training for the Colombian armed
forces counter-narcotics efforts (and $500,000 in IMET
[international military and educational training] );
-- $1 million in FMF earmarked funds for weapons and
ammunition for the Colombian National Police;
-- $995,700 in FMF earmarked funds for the defensive
arming of aircraft already in the inventory of the Colombian
government;
-- Currently estimated $3.7 million of economic assistance,
which includes ESF [economic support fund] and development
assistance.
A drawdown of $65 million worth of military equipment,
services, and training delivered last fall provided vital resources
which have enabled the Colombian government to move aggressively
against drug traffickers and their assets. In addition, a drawdown
of $20 million worth of military equipment, services and training
being delivered this fall for counter-narcotics purposes provides
Colombia with resources to sustain momentum against trafficker
organizations.
Bolivia
We believe that the Bolivians have felt constrained by a perceived
dependence on the "coca economy" and have been careful to avoid
measures that might provoke civil violence or destabilize fragile
democratic institutions.
In the first half of 1990, there was an increasing convergence
between the counter-narcotics policy approaches of the Paz
Zamora government
and those of the United States. The
Bolivian congress ratified the 1988 United Nations Convention
Against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances. The Bolivians also have signed Cartagena side
agreements with the United States on essential chemicals, public
awareness and control of weapons.
Helped by low coca leaf prices, the coca eradication program
attained record rates, although prices began edging higher during
the middle of the year. By July 1990, the voluntary coca eradication
program surpassed the annual target of 5,000 hectares specified in
the Bolivian coca control law of 1988. Bolivia is pursuing a goal of
eradicating 7,500 hectares by the end of 1990 to make up for a
shortfall in the 1989 eradication program. The current 1990 pace
of seizures of cocaine products and arrests in Bolivia should exceed
the statistics for 1988 and 1989.
The Bolivian air force counter-narcotics task force
operated 12 US government-owned helicopters for more
than 10,000 hours without accidents. The navy counter-narcotics
Riverine Task Force improved its performance dramatically,
spending the majority of its time in the first half of 1990 on
operations away from its base. Among its significant successes
was the recent destruction of the largest cocaine HCL production
laboratory found in Bolivia. Virtually all officers and more than
60% of the patrolmen assigned to the National Police Rural Mobile
Patrol Force (UMOPAR) are now graduates of the US government-
supported Chimore training center, which also provided
paramilitary rural counter-narcotics training for personnel from
several other Latin American countries. These successes, however,
have not been unmitigated.
While it is our intention to work with the Bolivians to engage
the full range of their capabilities in the drug war, Bolivian
army involvement has not been clearly delineated
. We now
have assurances from the highest levels of the Bolivian government
that the army will participate in the expanded Bolivian armed
forces counter-narcotics program as cited in Annex III of the
bilateral agreement on cooperation against narcotics trafficking,
but the exact degree and nature of that cooperation remains unclear.
It is important to note, however, that we are not forcing a military
option on the Bolivians. Their air force and navy already cooperate,
and the degree of military support to the overall effort is a Bolivian
decision. We have made clear, though, and the Bolivians have
accepted, the notion of performance-based programs.
Our FY 1990 counter-narcotics assistance program to Bolivia
included the following elements:
-- $15.7 million of INM-funded programs designed to
strengthen law enforcement and interdiction capabilities and
disrupt trafficking infrastructure;
-- $39.1 million in FMF funds to support the role of the armed
forces in the war against drugs (and $500,000 in IMET);
-- $1 million in earmarked FMF funds for weapons and
ammunition for UMOPAR;
-- A drawdown of $7.8 million worth of Department of
Defense equipment, services, and related training;
-- $40.5 million currently estimated in economic assistance.
Peru
Peru presents the most difficult situation because of the
complexity of its problems and the newness of the Fujimori
administration. Counter-narcotics performance was limited during
the final months of the Garcia administration. The Fujimori
administration has publicly committed itself to fight narcotics
traffickers and insurgents, and to adhere to international human
rights standards. But as a new government with a wide range of
serious internal problems, it has moved slowly and sometimes
uncertainly towards developing a comprehensive strategy. There is,
however, significant support within the government and in the
public to develop a workable counternarcotics program in
cooperation with the United States. We are continuing negotiations
with the new government on integrated counter-narcotics programs.
Santa Lucia
, the base of interdiction
operations in the Upper Huallaga Valley, is near completion.
Security and logistical arrangements are in place. The airstrip is
long enough to land a C-130 transport aircraft, providing an air
bridge between Santa Lucia and Lima. Hangar and maintenance
facilities are also near completion.
Police cooperation at Santa Lucia has continued to be strong
in the first weeks of the Fujimori administration. In August, the
national police at Santa Lucia destroyed 14 cocaine-base labs, one
stash house, and four chemical storage sites, and arrested 74
people. A record number of square meters of seed beds were
eradicated in August, bringing the total since the program began to
an equivalent of 7,365 hectares in potential mature coca plants.
Despite additional airlift, new tactics, and improved
intelligence, police interdiction results have only been moderately
successful. The lack of military support and cooperation for
counter-narcotics operations in the Upper Huallaga Valley continues
to be a serious drawback to law enforcement operations.
The first phase of aerial herbicide testing is complete, and all
scientific tests on the treated soil and water indicate that "Spike"
is a safe and effective coca herbicide.
Peru has signed several side agreements as part of its
Cartagena summit commitments, including agreements regarding
essential chemicals, public awareness, and tax information
exchanges. Peru also has exchanged diplomatic notes with the
United States on the current bilateral extradition treaty, which
remains in force. But problems remain.
The Fujimori administration, still working to define its
overall priorities and the essential elements of its programs,
declined to participate in the FY 1990 FMF program to provide $35.9
million in military assistance for counter-narcotics programs.
President Fujimori has said that he wants to pursue a more
comprehensive approach integrating his economic concerns, rather
than focus in this first agreement solely on military cooperation.
The Fujimori administration, though committed to improving
Peru's performance, has not yet taken action to establish firm
human rights monitoring and corruption controls.
Our FY 1990 counter-narcotics program
included the following:
-- $19 million in INM-funded programs to support law
enforcement projects;
-- $1 million in FMF earmarked funds for weapons and
ammunition for the Peruvian National Police;
-- $4.3 million currently estimated in economic support.
Cartagena Update
In summary, we should review the past year in light of the
Cartagena summit and the commitments made there by the four
countries.
The Declaration of Cartagena
, signed on
February 15, 1990, commits the governments of Colombia, Bolivia,
Peru, and the United States to a comprehensive multilateral effort
to fight drug trafficking. At Cartagena, the United States and the
Andean countries reaffirmed their will to attack all facets of the
illegal drug trade: production, transportation, and consumption.
The role of the United States is to limit domestic demand for drugs
and assist other countries to reduce the supply of illegal drugs,
develop alternative sources of income for coca growers, and
enhance interdiction capabilities. The role of the Andean
governments is to disrupt trafficking of illegal drug products,
prevent the diversion of essential chemicals, and discourage illicit
coca cultivation.
To assist the Andean countries in working toward this
common goal, the United States agreed to cooperate on economic,
military, law enforcement, diplomatic and public awareness
initiatives.
To assist the United States, the Andean countries agreed to
adopt sound economic and investment policies, as well as pursue
legislation and regulations to foster private investment.
In addition to the agreements previously mentioned, several
bilateral side agreements have been concluded:
-- Colombia has signed a bilateral agreement on asset
sharing.
-- Bolivia has signed bilateral agreements on tax information
exchange, essential chemicals, public awareness, and weapons
control.
-- Peru has signed bilateral agreements on tax information
exchange, essential chemicals, and public awareness and has
exchanged notes on extradition.
To follow up on the progress of these agreements, the parties
agreed at the summit to hold a high-level follow-up meeting within
a timely period after the Cartagena meeting. We fully expect a
follow-on meeting will reflect the overall progress in
implementing this important strategy to eliminate the threat of
drugs facing us all.
The record of Cartagena, however, is mixed. Our major area of
progress has been in Colombia, where the government has not only
been vigorous in its efforts but reasonably successful. But the
cartels in Colombia represent more centralized targets and by
declaring open warfare on the country they made a counterattack
possible practically and politically. Colombia, too, is stronger
economically and has a better grip on democratic processes. The
leadership in Colombia is more confident of its institutional base
and is therefore in a better position to respond. The situations in
Bolivia and Peru are more problematic.
The economic and political environment in both Bolivia and
Peru is not as strong as in Colombia. Years of mismanagement and
civil upheaval in Peru, the collapse of significant international
markets for Bolivia's major exports plus hyperinflation, and a
history of fragile democracy in both countries mean that they have
less flexibility to respond to the range of challenges presented by
drug trafficking. This range of problems is one reason why the
President's strategy focuses on broader political, economic, and law
enforcement programs rather than on the narrower problem of drug
eradication or interdiction.
No one is deceived, however, that success in such an
undertaking will be easy or straightforward. Nor should anyone
believe that we can establish arbitrary, obligatory standards that
pay no heed to the realities of dealing in the international
environment or the domestic politics of this or other countries.
Cartagena is not a report card that establishes immutable pass-fail
demands.
More than anything else, Cartagena represents a statement of
intent, a hope for the cooperation that is essential if we are to
succeed in what must be a joint undertaking; but it will be nothing
but words on paper if we are unwilling collectively to live up to its
promise. The President's strategy, which formed the basis of our
request to Congress, represents a serious effort by the United
States to live up to its obligations. (###)
US Department of State Dispatch,
Vol 1, No 9, October 29, 1990
Title: UN Security Council Resolution on Israel
Date: Oct 24, 199010/24/90
Category: Speeches, Testimony, Statements
Region: MidEast/North Africa
Country: Israel
Subject: United Nations
[TEXT]
Resolution 673 (October 24, 1990)
The Security Council,
Reaffirming the obligations of Member States under the United
Nations Charter,
Reaffirming also its resolution 672 (1990),
Having been briefed by the Secretary-General on 19 October
1990,
Expressing alarm at the rejection of Security Council
resolution 672 (1990) by the Israeli Government, and its refusal to
accept the mission of the Secretary-General,
Taking into consideration the statement of the Secretary-
General relative to the purpose of the mission he is sending to the
region and conveyed to the Council by the President on 12 October
1990,
Gravely concerned at the continued deterioration of the
situation in the occupied territories,
1. Deplores the refusal of the Israeli Government to receive
the mission of the Secretary-General to the region;
2. Urges the Israeli Government to reconsider its decision and
insists that it comply fully with resolution 672 (1990) and to
permit the mission of the Secretary-General to proceed in keeping
with its purpose;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Council
the report requested in resolution 672 (1990);
4. Affirms its determination to give full and expeditious
consideration to the report.
VOTE: Unanimous (15-0).(###)
US Department of State Dispatch,
Vol 1, No 9, October 29, 1990
Title: Economic Summits, 1981-1990
Date: Oct 29, 199010/29/90
Category: Fact Sheets
Region: Europe, East Asia, North America
Country: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan
Subject: Trade/Economics
[TEXT]
Leaders of seven industrial countries--the United States, Japan,
France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Canada--plus the
President of the European Community Commission, have discussed
and made decisions on a wide range of international economic and
political issues at economic summit meetings that have been held
annually since 1975. The following information provides
background on each of the 10 summits since 1981.
Houston, July 9-11, 1990
Summary
The Houston summit was held against the backdrop of movement
toward democracy and freer markets in many parts of the world,
including elections in Central and Eastern Europe and Nicaragua,
momentum toward German unification, and political reforms in the
Soviet Union. The summit leaders agreed on most international
economic and political issues, but intense discussions were needed
on agricultural subsidies in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade
negotiations, economic assistance to the Soviet Union, and global
warming before consensus could be reached.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Agreement on progressive reductions in internal and
external support and protection of agriculture and on a framework
for conducting agricultural negotiations in order to successfully
conclude by December 1990 the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade
talks under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT).
-- Request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development to undertake, in close coordination with the European
Community (EC), a study of the Soviet economy, to make
recommendations, to establish the criteria under which Western
economic assistance could effectively support Soviet reforms, and
to submit a report by the end of 1990.
-- Support for aid to Central and Eastern European nations
that are firmly committed to political and economic reform,
including freer markets, and encouragement of foreign private
investment in those countries and improved markets for their
exports by means of trade and investment agreements.
-- Pledge to begin talks, to be completed by 1992, on a
global forest convention to protect the world's forests.
Political Accomplishments
-- Promotion of democracy throughout the world by assisting
in the drafting of laws, advising in fostering independent media,
establishing training programs, and expanding exchange programs.
-- Endorsement of the maintenance of an effective
international nuclear nonproliferation system, including adoption of
safeguards and nuclear export control measures, and support for a
complete ban on chemical
weapons.
Paris, July 14-16, 1989
Summary
The Paris summit marked the celebration of the 200th anniversary
of the French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. It
also was the first economic summit meeting for President Bush,
who had just returned from trips to Poland and Hungary. These
developments reinforced for the summit leaders the importance of
supporting political and economic reform in Eastern Europe. The
leaders also expressed strong concern about environmental and
narcotics issues; at least one-third of the economic declaration
dealt with the environment.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Agreement on several multilateral trade issues, including
a pledge to make effective use of the GATT dispute settlement
mechanism, to avoid new restrictive trade measures inconsistent
with the GATT, and to make further substantial progress in the
Uruguay Round in order to complete it by the end of 1990.
-- Commitment to a strengthened debt strategy that will
rely, on a case-by-case basis, on such actions as economic reforms
by developing countries, more resources by a financially stronger
World Bank and the IMF, continued debt rescheduling by creditor
governments, and more voluntary, market-based debt reductions by
commercial banks.
-- Continued cooperation in foreign exchange markets.
-- Support for ending as soon as possible and not later than
the end of the century the production and consumption of
chlorofluorocarbons covered by the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
-- Commitment to limit the emissions of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases as well as conclusion of an international
framework convention on global climate change.
-- Support for the preservation of tropical forests and
condemnation of the practice of dumping waste in the oceans.
Political Accomplishments
-- Call for a meeting of all interested parties to discuss
concerted assistance to Poland and Hungary and a request that the
EC coordinate these efforts.
-- Support for effective programs to stop illegal drug
production and trafficking, including assistance to the anti-drug
efforts of producing countries and the United Nations, increased
international cooperation to seize drug proceeds and prevent money
laundering, and support for a 1990 international conference on
cocaine and drug demand reduction.
-- Continued strong condemnation of international terrorism
by states, including hostage taking and attacks against
international civil aviation.
-- Condemnation of political repression in China and
agreement to suspend the shipment of arms and the extension of
loans to China.
Toronto, June 19-21, 1988
Summary
The summit, one of the most harmonious of the 1980s, marked the
end of the second 7-year cycle of economic meetings. The leaders
expressed satisfaction at their accomplishments in bringing down
inflation in the 1980s and laying the basis for sustained strong
growth and improved productivity. Among still unresolved problems
they noted the emergence of large payments imbalances among
major countries, greater exchange rate volatility, and continuing
debt service difficulty in developing countries. In response to these
developments, the leaders made further refinements in the
multilateral surveillance system to improve the coordination of
their economic policies. They also committed themselves to
further trade liberalization at the Uruguay Round and offered new
initiatives to relieve the debt burden of the poorest developing
countries.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Improvement of the multilateral surveillance system by
adding a commodity price indicator to the existing indicators
monitored by the seven nations, and by integrating national
structural policies into the economic coordination process.
-- Support for efforts at the Uruguay Round to achieve trade
liberalization in all areas including trade in services, intellectual
property rights (such as copyrights and trademarks), and trade-
related investment measures, to strengthen the GATT's surveillance
and enforcement mechanism, and to reduce all direct and indirect
subsidies affecting agricultural trade.
-- Support for a $75-billion general capital increase for the
World Bank to strengthen its capacity to promote adjustment in
middle-income developing countries.
-- Agreement to relieve the debt burdens of the poorest
developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, by urging
creditors to grant partial debt forgiveness, reduced interest rates,
and/or lengthened debt maturities.
-- Support for the ratification of the Montreal agreement on
the ozone layer and the completion of other ongoing negotiations on
emissions and the transport of hazardous wastes.
Political Accomplishments
-- Confirmation of the policy of constructive dialogue and
cooperation between East and West, particularly in the light of
greater freedom and openness in the Soviet Union.
-- Reaffirmation of previous summit agreements to combat
terrorism and support for the policy of no takeoffs for hijacked
aircraft once they have landed.
-- Support for US government initiatives to improve
cooperation against narcotics trafficking.
Venice, June 8-10, 1987
Summary
The Venice summit took place against a backdrop of escalating
tension in the Persian Gulf. On the economic front, the summit
leaders addressed the continuing issue of how to reconcile domestic
economic policies with the need for a more stable international
monetary, financial, and trading system.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Reaffirmation that further shifts in exchange rates could
be counterproductive.
-- Agreement on the need for effective structural adjustment
policies, especially for creating jobs.
-- Agreement to improve the multilateral trading system
under the GATT and to bring about wider coverage of world trade
under agreed, effective, and enforceable multilateral discipline.
-- Agreement that the long-term objective in agriculture is
to allow market signals to influence the orientation of production,
and to work in concert to adjust agricultural policies, both
domestically and in the Uruguay Round.
-- Call for newly industrialized countries with rapid growth
and large external surpluses to reduce trade barriers and allow
their currencies more fully to reflect underlying economic
conditions.
Political Accomplishments
-- Agreement affirming the principle of freedom of
navigation in the Persian Gulf and the importance of the free flow
of oil and other traffic through the waterway, and supporting the
adoption of just and effective measures by the UN Security Council
to resolve the conflict.
-- Agreement on the need for more effective national efforts
and international coordination to prevent the acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (AIDS) from spreading further.
Tokyo, May 4-6, 1986
Summary
The Tokyo meeting, by achieving significant economic and political
declarations, was hailed as one of the most successful economic
summits in recent memory. There was greater specificity about
attempts to increase policy coordination and a decision to begin a
new round of trade talks. On the political side, the joint statement
on terrorism was a landmark achievement. One reason for the
success was that leaders at the Tokyo meeting had considerable
experience dealing with each other at previous summits.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Establishment of new arrangements to assess the
consistency and compatibility of their economic policies, based on
economic indicators, and including enhanced surveillance over
exchange rates.
-- Formation of a new Group of 7 (finance ministers of
summit nations) to achieve greater economic policy coordination.
-- Agreement to use the September 1986 GATT ministerial
meeting in Uruguay as a platform for launching the new round of
multilateral trade negotiations and to support an extension of GATT
discipline to new areas such as services, intellectual property, and
investment.
-- Recognition of the need to cooperate to redirect
agricultural policies and adjust the structure of agricultural
production in light of world demand.
-- Endorsement of measures to assist Third World
development, including the US initiative to alleviate debtor country
problems, in order to encourage implementation of effective
structural adjustment policies, and increased financial support to
the International Development Association and the IMF.
Political Accomplishments
-- Agreement on a tough statement denouncing international
terrorism, vowing to fight it relentlessly and singling out Libya as
a key target in the fight against terrorism.
-- Call for a new international convention requiring
information exchanges on nuclear accidents and emergencies, in the
wake of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station.
-- Commitment to continued East-West dialogue and
negotiation, and support for a balanced, substantial, and verifiable
arms reduction agreement.
Bonn, May 2-4, 1985
Summary
The summit participants undertook to pursue, individually and
cooperatively, policies conducive to sustained growth and higher
employment. Building on common, agreed principles for achieving
these goals, the leaders indicated specific priorities for their own
national policies. The United States asked the Federal Republic of
Germany and Japan to stimulate their economies. The leaders
undertook to seek to make the functioning of the world monetary
system more stable and more effective and discussed ways to reach
more realistic exchange rate relationships.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Agreement to work to strengthen their economies, halt
protectionism, improve international monetary stability, increase
employment, and reduce social inequities.
-- Promise to follow prudent economic policies, including the
exercise of firm control over public spending to reduce budget
deficits.
-- Agreement to give increased impetus to preparations for
the launching of new multilateral trade negotiations under the
auspices of the GATT.
Political Accomplishments
-- Support for the US negotiating position in the arms control
talks with the Soviet Union, which was urged to act positively and
constructively to reach agreement.
-- Commitment to fighting the common threat posed by
growing international drug trafficking and abuse, including the
coordination of legislation to thwart international drug smuggling.
London, June 7-9, 1984
Summary
The meeting marked the passage from a period of constructing firm
domestic bases for noninflationary growth to one of enhancing the
openness of international trade and finance. As the previous
Williamsburg summit signaled the beginning of recovery and offered
an outline of future strategies in the international economy, the
London summit gave a clearer focus to future tasks and actions.
There was a strong endorsement of the basic anti-inflationary
stance first advocated by President Reagan at the Ottawa summit in
1981. The political declarations were the cornerstone of the
London summit.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Agreement to continue and strengthen policies to reduce
inflation, interest rates, and budget deficits and to control
monetary growth.
-- Commitment to work toward making their economies more
competitive and flexible to reduce unemployment and develop new
technologies.
-- Agreement to take steps to ease the repayment terms of
Third World debtor countries working to improve their economic
performance.
Political Accomplishments
-- In a 500-word Declaration on Democratic Values,
affirmation of their commitment to a rule of law which respects
and protects the rights and liberties of every citizen and provides a
setting in which the human spirit could develop in freedom and
diversity.
-- Determination to pursue the search for extended political
dialogue and long-term cooperation with the Soviet Union and its
allies and endorsement of US willingness to resume nuclear arms
control talks with the Soviet Union.
-- Commitment to consult and cooperate in expelling or
excluding known terrorists from their countries.
-- Hope for a peaceful and honorable settlement to the Iran-
Iraq conflict.
Williamsburg, May 28-30, 1983
Summary
The United States hosted a very successful summit as virtually all
President Reagan's economic and political objectives were fulfilled.
As Western economies were beginning to recover, the allied leaders
accepted several US economic policies (e.g., lower taxes, more
emphasis on private sector initiative). The allies acknowledged the
need for united action to bring about domestic and global economic
growth. The joint statement on intermediate-range nuclear forces
(INF) also was an important victory for the United States because it
specifically endorsed the diplomatic and military strategy that the
United States and its NATO allies were pursuing in relation to the
Soviet Union. The introduction of more flexibility and informality
into the proceedings (e.g., fewer previously prepared texts)
contributed to the successful meeting.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Agreement on broad strategies to consolidate domestic
and international economic recovery, including steps to reverse the
trend toward protectionism, promote greater convergence of
economic performance, and encourage the development of new
technologies.
-- Commitment to reduce structural budget deficits by
limiting the growth of expenditures and to pursue appropriate
budgetary and monetary policies to lower interest rates, inflation,
and unemployment.
-- Decision to convene a meeting of finance ministers to
review and improve the operation of the international monetary
system.
-- Commitment to energy conservation and the development
of alternative energy sources.
-- Reaffirmation that East-West economic relations should
be compatible with the security interests of the allies.
Political Accomplishments
-- Agreement to achieve lower levels of arms through serious
arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union, and a commitment
to proceed with INF deployment if the negotiations failed to result
in an accord.
Versailles, June 4-6, 1982
Summary
The summit was surrounded by controversy over the issue (settled 6
months later) of oil pipeline equipment sanctions against the Soviet
Union, including the question of the applicability of US law to
European companies. The leaders agreed to pursue greater
coordination of their economic policies and to seek convergence of
economic performance, at a time of recession in the Western
industrial countries.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Establishment of a multilateral surveillance system to
enable countries to consult on economic policies and seek
convergence of economic performance as the primary vehicle for
achieving stable exchange rates.
-- Agreement to pursue prudent monetary policies and
achieve greater control of budgetary deficits in order to bring down
high interest rates.
-- Prudent use of government export credits to the Soviet
Union and its allies.
-- Efforts to improve the multilateral system controlling the
export of strategic goods to the Soviet Union and its allies.
-- Approval of a preparatory process of negotiations on
assistance to developing countries and development of other forms
of practical cooperation with them.
Political Accomplishments
-- Call for an immediate halt to violence by all parties in
Lebanon, in the wake of the Israeli invasion there.
Ottawa, July 19-21, 1981
Summary
This summit was a "get-acquainted" session between President
Reagan and the other allied leaders. The President emphasized his
domestic economic policies to promote sustainable, market-
oriented, and non-inflationary growth. He also called attention to
the potential for erosion of Western security resulting from
excessive dependence on Soviet energy resources (notably natural
gas) and the export of strategic goods to the Soviet Union.
Economic Accomplishments
-- Agreement that the goals of reducing inflation and
unemployment were highest priority and that low and stable
monetary growth was essential to bring down inflation.
-- Commitment to liberal international trade policies and
continued opposition to protectionist pressures.
-- Commitment to accelerated development and use of all
energy sources and encouragement of greater public acceptance of
nuclear energy.
-- Agreement to consult and coordinate economic policies
relating to East-West trade and to ensure that these policies were
compatible with political and security objectives. Agreement on
the need to upgrade existing controls on exports of strategic goods
to the Soviet Union and its allies.
Political Accomplishments
-- Condemnation of the continuing Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan.
-- Condemnation of international terrorism.
-- Disapproval of the escalation of tension and the continuing
acts of violence in the Middle East.(###)
US Department of State Dispatch,
Vol 1, No 9, October 29, 1990
Title: Feature: Security Computer Network: Strategic
Resource for US Business
Category: Features
Region: North America
Country: United States
Subject: Terrorism, State Department
[TEXT]
The State Department and more than 500 US corporations are
sharing vital information on terrorism and other criminal acts to
protect American lives abroad.
"It's a bit of a bad news network," explains Stefanie Stauffer,
manager of the Overseas Security Electronic Bulletin Board (EBB), a
cooperative computer service that provides security snapshots of
some 190 countries. "But we know business and can seek out the
information they need to protect American personnel and property
overseas."
The EBB was established by the Overseas Security Advisory
Council (OSAC), a joint venture between the Department and the
private sector to collaborate on overseas security problems of
mutual concern. As a result, worldwide employees of the State
Department and major US firms such as Exxon, BF Goodrich,
American Airlines, Procter and Gamble, Ford Motor, Bank of
America, McDonald's, and IBM have become the "eyes and ears" of the
EBB.
A Free Service for Corporate America
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security offers the EBB free of charge to
any US corporation doing substantial business abroad. Its
information is specific to each country and spans security and
crime, travel advisories, terrorist profiles, key US points of
contact in-country, local holidays, significant anniversary dates,
and police emergency telephone numbers. All a US firm needs to
access EBB is a computer, a telephone modem, and the appropriate
software.
"Our objective," explains Stauffer, a 19-year veteran security
officer and chief of Diplomatic Security's Private Sector Liaison
Staff, "is to provide the kind of nitty-gritty information that will
help a corporation assess the security climate in a country and
determine if it's safe to travel or keep workers there."
Sharing Security Information: Key to EBB Success
Although the EBB does not carry aviation threat notifications, it
does provide information generally unavailable anywhere else. "The
fact that security information is on the EBB stimulates other
companies to step forward with details they might generally be
reluctant to share," Stauffer explains. "The more they share, the
more information we're able to put together on a country. In the
end, we all benefit."
EBB sources come from US companies in the region,
unclassified US government reports, and the media. "After an
incident, we also call a company to be sure a report is accurate and
to see if they've had other problems as well. We then give the
heads-up on the EBB."
The two-way nature of the EBB is its strength, according to
Bartley Railing, the office's Middle East analyst. "US companies
have good contacts and have learned to look out for their security,"
he says. "They want us not only as a resource for information but as
a facilitator to help turn it around."
In late summer, Railing, Stauffer, and three other geographic
analysts fielded more than 800 calls from US firms operating in the
gulf or the Philippines--two major crisis spots in mid-1990--and
served as a focal point for US corporations airlifting employees
from Iraq.
As a result, the EBB and office briefings for private
businesses crackled with critical details: updates on the status of
American hostages in Iraq; facts behind a major US multinational's
rumored gulf withdrawal; threat information on anti-American
targeting for bombings and assassinations in the Philippines.
"Our assistance really varied from interpreting travel
advisories to more substantive briefings on a region's history or
culture," explains Railing, who continues to work closely with
State's 24-hour Kuwait Task Force. "So many companies had
employees stuck there and still do."
The Private Sector Liaison Staff also helps US firms develop
contingency plans for emergency evacuations. "Their main concern
is if and when something does happen, they're ready," says Railing.
"They bounce the plan off us to make sure it's a legitimate operation
and that it will work."
Security Information Strategic For US Firms
Overseas
The EBB's popularity reflects changing security priorities among
large corporations. "Security has moved from the boiler room to the
boardroom in terms of its strategic importance to corporate
decisionmaking," says Raymond Humphrey, corporate security
director for the Digital Equipment Corporation and chair of the
advisory council's Information Interchange Committee. "Being able
to access a central pocket
of security information with just a telephone call makes the EBB an
invaluable tool for keeping abreast of events around the world."
Joining the Security Network
The Overseas Security Electronic Bulletin Board (EBB) disseminates
timely information on problem areas of the world, providing US
corporations with current unclassified threat information and
resources for help. The EBB is available to American firms and
wholly owned US subsidiaries engaged in substantial business
abroad. A software packet purchased from a private firm may be
required for successful access.
To apply, a corporate security director should send a letter
describing the company and its reasons for wanting EBB access to:
Executive Director
OSAC
Bureau of Diplomatic Security
US Department of State
PO Box 3590
Washington DC 20007-0090.
(by Deborah Guido-O'Grady, Dispatch Staff)(###)
US Department of State Dispatch,
Vol 1, No 9, October 29, 1990
Title: Ambassador Kampelman Honored for Distinguished Service
Zoellick
Source: Counselor Robert B. Zoellick
Description: Remarks delivered on October 9, 1990, at the Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC
Date: Oct 9, 199010/9/90
Category: Speeches, Testimony, Statements
Region: Eurasia, Europe
Country: USSR (former)
Subject: State Department
[TEXT]
Remarks delivered on October 9, 1990, at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, during a
farewell dinner for Ambassador Max M. Kampelman. Ambassador
Kampelman retired after serving 12 years on the Wilson Center's
Board of Trustees. During a long and prestigious diplomatic career,
he headed US delegations to many important negotiations, including
the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
Ambassador Kampelman is also a former Counselor of the
Department.
Many young men and women are drawn to Washington. It's been that
way for many years. They come for various reasons: excitement,
challenge, influence, and, I think, more than we sometimes
recognize, that they also come to serve their nation.
Over time, these early dreams fade. Some people become
diverted. Many never seem to grasp the opportunity. Others make an
effort but then grow weary and turn away.
It's a rare man or woman who perseveres, who seems to gain
energy as the years go on, who seems to be able to accomplish more
and more for the public interest.
Tonight we have the opportunity to recognize and thank one of
these most special individuals: Ambassador Max Kampelman.
It's interesting to take a moment to glance at the written
record of his accomplishments and honors. Too often, for most men
and women, even for public leaders, these lists have a certain
black-and-white, formal quality. But not for the man who brings us
together tonight. Instead, one encounters a 50-year history that
demonstrates respect for his fellow man--through local, regional,
national, international, professional, academic, and religious
venues. Ambassador Kampelman's diversity of interest is a picture
of the very society he has lived in--and has striven to make better.
This is a fitting setting for us to thank this public servant.
We meet between the White House, the Capitol, and the courts--
places that mark Ambassador Kampelman's varied career. We go
about our business privately, without great fanfare, as he does. And
the Wilson Center itself calls for both scholarship and an
awareness of the need to act--a hallmark of Ambassador
Kampelman's work. Perhaps most important, Ambassador
Kampelman has helped carry forward in the late 20th century some
of the finest principles that our 28th President pursued during the
first part of this century.
Realist and Idealist
Whenever I think of Woodrow Wilson, one particular book, written
by Robert Osgood, comes to my mind. It's titled Ideals and Self-
Interest in America's Foreign Relations. Published in 1953, about
the time Mr. Kampelman was pursuing his academic career, the book
was prepared under the auspices of a center at the University of
Chicago under the direction of Hans Morgenthau.
The book deals with America's experience in reconciling
national self-interest with universal ideals that transcend the
interests of particular nations.
I think this book is an especially fitting one to recall tonight,
because Ambassador Kampelman's career is a successful
reconciliation of those two strands of American diplomacy--the
realist and idealist.
He offered clear-eyed recognition of the need for American
military strength, but he also played a leading role in some of our
age's major efforts to reduce and control weapons of mass
destruction. He stood for human rights and democratic principles,
not as abstract concepts but as the means that move the lives of
men and nations. He comprehended the true, distorted nature of the
Soviet Union, but he also never relented in efforts to encourage its
leaders and people to aspire to make their nation a place that
respects the rights of man. He has countered some on the far left
who believe America should not engage the world because we will
corrupt it, and he has refuted some on the far right who believe
American foreign policy has no obligation to try to project our
values to distant lands. Indeed, Ambassador Kampelman stands for
American engagement in the world--realist and idealist. This is
the tradition of American leadership of the post-war era. And now
we must apply it to the problems of a new era.
Just last week, I attended a conference of a group that played
a special role during the Cold War; it is now setting its future
course. This conference was the first meeting of the CSCE--the
Helsinki process--on American soil. It's a group Ambassador
Kampelman knows well, and its leaders know him.
As I looked around the large conference center at that
meeting, I had cause to recall the past agenda--because I could see
people who might not be alive except for the Helsinki process. But I
also had cause to reflect on the new agenda, because some of those
former prisoners of conscience were now foreign ministers. They
remind all of us that the best days of CSCE must still lie ahead,
because the problems ahead--ensuring fair elections, strengthening
young parliaments, protecting the rights of national minorities,
securing the opportunity of economic liberty for all the citizens of
Europe and North America, enhancing security through measures to
build confidence against aggression--all these require the CSCE
process to build on past success.
In doing so, the United States will continue to look to
Ambassador Kampelman's counsel--both realist and idealist. If
anyone can fuse the best of what came before with the
opportunities for new roles, I think he can do so. If anyone can
encourage the next generation of Americans to approach CSCE, as
well as America's global role, with intelligence, practicality, and
hope, I think it is Ambassador Kampelman.
So I want to close with a simple message from Secretary
Baker and from myself. Thank you, Ambassador Kampelman, for
what you've done, for what you will still do, and, perhaps most
important of all, for demonstrating to America what it can be.
(###)
US Department of State Dispatch,
Vol 1, No 9, October 29, 1990
Title: Focus on Central and Eastern Europe: 10/29/90
Date: Oct 29, 199010/29/90
Category: Focus on Emerging Democracies
Region: E/C Europe
Country: USSR (former), Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland,
Romania, Yugoslavia (former)
Subject: Trade/Economics, Democratization
[TEXT]
Citizens Democracy Corps: Leadership Named; USSR Added to
List of Recipient Nations
Chairman and Executive Committee Named
. White
House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater announced on October 19
that President Bush had named a Chairman and Executive Committee
for the Citizens Democracy Corps:
Chairman of the Board--
-- Drew Lewis, Chairman of the Board, Union Pacific
Corporation; former Secretary of Transportation
Executive Committee--
-- John R. Block, President, National American Wholesale
Grocers' Association; former Secretary of Agriculture
-- Derek Bok, President, Harvard University
-- Lodwrick M. Cook, Chairman and CEO, ARCO
-- William A. Hewitt, former Chairman, Deere ∧ Company;
former US Ambassador to Jamaica
-- Barbara Jordan, The Lyndon B. Johnson Chair in National
Policy, University of Texas; former congresswoman
-- Nancy Kassebaum; United States Senate
-- Lane Kirkland, President AFL-CIO
-- Henry A. Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.;
former Secretary of State
-- Robert H. Krieble, President, Krieble Associates
-- Frederic V. Malek, Vice Chairman, Northwest Airlines; Co-
Chairman, Coldwell Banker Commercial Groups
-- Frank N. Piasecki, President and CEO, Piasecki Aircraft
-- Robert S. Strauss, partner, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer ∧
Feld; former Chairman, Democratic National Committee; former US
Trade Representative
-- William T. Ylvisaker, President and CEO, Corporate Focus,
Inc.
A Board of Directors will be announced later.
USSR Added
. Secretary Baker announced on
October 19 (see Dispatch, October 22, 1990, p. 203) that President
Bush had decided to include the Soviet Union in the work of the
Citizens Democracy Corps. Secretary Baker said that:
"We know a Europe whole and free must include the Soviet
Union. We know Soviet reform can be accelerated by multiplied
contacts with the American people. Through the Citizens
Democracy Corps, we will try to help the leaders of the Soviet
Union by increasing their knowledge of democratic processes and
market economics, by increasing their opportunities for interchange
with our citizens and institutions, and above all, by giving them
greater hope."
Clearinghouse Established
. As President
Bush noted in announcing the creation of the Citizens Democracy
Corps in a speech at the University of South Carolina on May 12, "the
real strength of our democracy is its citizens, the collective
strength of individual Americans." Through a clearinghouse now
being established, the Citizens Democracy Corps will gather
information about available American capabilities in the private
sector and about priority programs and requirements in Central and
Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The clearinghouse will serve
as a focal point for Americans able to provide technical assistance,
donated supplies, and talent, and it will respond to priority
requests from the region that can best be met by the US private
sector. The Citizens Democracy Corps will advise corporate and
other nongovernmental organizations as to where they might
concentrate their efforts, matching them with partners in the
recipient countries. The Board of Directors may also selectively
initiate major projects with support from the private sector.
New Bulletin
. The Citizens Democracy Corps
is publishing a bulletin. For information about the Democracy
Corps, or to receive future mailings of its bulletin, call 800-321-
1945 or, in Washington, DC, 202-872-0933. You may write to
Citizens Democracy Corps Clearinghouse, 1815 H Street, NW, Suite
1010, Washington, DC 20006.
USIA Youth Exchanges; Congressional internships
In September, two groups of youths arrived from Central and
Eastern Europe to participate in a United States Information Agency
(USIA) youth-exchange program. The first group is here for a 2-
month congressional internship. After a 1-week orientation, each
member of the group (one Bulgarian, two Czechoslovaks, one
German, three Hungarians, and three Poles) will have a 6-week
internship with a member of the House of Representatives, followed
by a 1-week visit to a congressional district. The Members of
Congress who are hosting the interns are Nancy Johnson (R-
Connecticut), Dale Kildee (D-Michigan), Jim McDermott (D-
Washington), Mary Rose Oakar (D-Ohio), Donald Pease (D-Ohio), Tim
Penny (D-Minnesota), Thomas Sawyer (D-Ohio), Craig Thomas (R-
Wyoming), William Thomas (R-California), and Barbara Vucanovich
(R-Nevada).
The second group (two Bulgarians, one Czechoslovak, two
Germans, two Hungarians, two Poles, and one Yugoslav) is in the
United States for
1 month to examine the role of youth in the political process.
Following an introductory week in Washington, DC, they will travel
to Chicago and Geneseo, Illinois; Sacramento and San Francisco,
California; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Voices of Freedom '90
The World Press Freedom Committee held a 1-day coordination
meeting called "Voices of Freedom '90" on October 10 in the
National Press Club in Washington, DC, on efforts to aid journalists
and news media in Central and Eastern Europe. Representatives of
more than 70 journalistic, governmental, and other groups from the
United States and Europe participated.
The purpose of the meeting was to share information on what
is being done, what is not being done, and what could improve US
assistance, both public and private. Participants were given an
overview of print and broadcast press needs in Central and Eastern
Europe, views of leading journalists, and a chance to participate in
a general discussion of what more can be done. Documents made
available at the meeting included a new regional survey of news
media needs and a presentation of what the 70 groups themselves
are doing. A written report of the meeting will be available later.
The World Press Freedom Committee has surveyed needs in
Central and Eastern Europe, produced a 160-page Handbook for
Journalists of Central and Eastern Europe, aided the establishment
of a regional training center in Warsaw, Poland, helped equip the
new headquarters of the independent Polish Journalists
Association, and conducted the inaugural training course in that
association.
The committee aims to promote close cooperation between US
or Canadian newspapers and newspapers from roughly similar media
markets in Central and Eastern Europe. In conjunction with other
international press organizations, it also administers a Central and
Eastern Europe News Media Aid Project that helped move a donated
printing press to Gazeta Wyborcza in Warsaw and assisted the
startup of Lidove Noviny in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
For additional information, or to obtain documents mentioned
above, call Dana Bullen or Malcolm Mallette at 703-648-1000.
Bulgaria
US-Bulgarian Agreement
. On October 5,
representatives of the United States and Bulgaria initialed an
agreement covering trade and financial matters, intellectual
property, and tourism. "This agreement is an important step in the
reintegration of Bulgaria into the global economy and the
community of free nations," said Acting US Trade Representative
Julius Katz. The agreement, when approved formally by both sides,
will provide several important improvements for business in each
country:
-- The two countries agreed to extend most-favored-nation
(MFN) tariff treatment to each other's products.
-- US firms will be offered MFN treatment in currency
convertibility and will have national treatment in establishing bank
accounts and in paying for goods and services with local currency in
Bulgaria. Hard currency earnings from trade may be immediately
repatriated.
-- The Bulgarian government has committed itself to
strengthening its intellectual property legislation in the areas of
patents, copyrights and trademarks, and to introducing new
legislation in the areas of proprietary information (trade secrets)
and integrated circuit layout designs. Once implemented, the new
legislation will be on a par with that of the principal industrialized
trading partners of the United States.
-- Several changes will make it easier for US companies'
commercial representatives to do business in Bulgaria (e.g.,
permission to advertise, to engage local agents and distributors,
and to contact end-users directly, and the right to non-
discrimination in renting office space, paying for local goods, and
establishing bank accounts).
-- Both sides also agreed not to mandate the use of barter or
countertrade in commercial transactions.
Before it takes effect, the agreement must be formally signed
by both countries, then approved by the Bulgarian parliament and the
US Congress.
Hungary
US TV Experts Help Hungarian Counterparts
. USIA
sponsored a trip to Budapest in September by former NBC executives
Robert Mulholland and Robert Walsh and ex-PBS official Neil Welling
to help restructure Hungarian State Television (MTV). MTV
President Elemer Hankiss praised USIA's quick response to his
request for assistance and endorsed the team's suggestions. The US
team said that MTV could turn things around with strong leadership.
Poland
Investing in Poland Business Conference
. Direct
Polish and US business contacts and networking is the purpose of
"Investing in Poland Business Conference--A Blueprint for Action,"
to be hosted by the Michigan Solidarnosc and the Polish-US
Economic Council of the US Chamber of Commerce, November 19-20,
in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The conference will provide hands-on,
how-to information and will offer on-going services to establish
successful joint-venture agreements. Michigan Solidarnosc
currently has 252 joint-venture proposals on file, access to an
additional 7,000, and regular information updates on laws,
regulations, initiatives, and joint-venture proposals throughout
Poland. The conference will address such concerns of US business
as:
-- What are the Polish economic reforms?
-- What incentives exist to attract US business?
-- What are the foreign investment opportunities in Poland?
-- Where, and how, does one find those opportunities?
-- What are the day-to-day realities of getting started and
doing business in Poland?
-- What risk assurances and insurances exist?
-- How do US business perspectives and practices fit with a
newly forming free-market system?
Michigan Solidarnosc, a non-profit business league, has
written authorization from Polish government, business, and
regional Solidarnosc leaders to act as a conduit of information and
to facilitate economic development between Poland and the United
States.
All speakers will be available for direct discussion and
include:
-- Dr. Andrej Zawislak--co-author of the Polish economic
reforms
-- Dr. Zbigniew Piotrowski--President, Polish Foreign
Investment Agency
-- Jan Krzysztof Bielecki--President and co-founder of the
Polish Junior Chamber of Commerce; adviser to Lech Walesa;
member of the Board of Directors of the Polish-American Enterprise
Fund
-- Thaddeus Kopinski--Executive Director, Polish-US
Economic Council
-- Dr. Beurt Servaas--Chairman and CEO, SerVaas Inc.
-- Sheila Murray Bethel and William Bethel--Bethel
Leadership Institute
-- Stanley Bokota--US Department of Commerce
-- US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
Conference supporters include Dow Chemical Company,
SerVaas Inc., LOT Polish Airlines, the US Foreign Commercial
Service/International Trade Administration in Chicago, and the
World Trade Center in Detroit.
For more information, call Michigan Solidarnosc at 517-882-
4179 or the Eberhard Conference Center at 616-771-6626.
US Mayors Help Polish Mayors
. The US
Conference of Mayors is developing a leadership training program
for new mayors in Central and Eastern Europe, supported by a grant
from USIA. On October 5, a US delegation that included four mayors
left for Poland. In Krakow, the mayors met with 115 of their
counterparts to discuss such issues as leadership, managing and
resolving conflict, involving citizens in governmental processes,
building effective coalitions, building an effective city government,
drafting the city budget, dealing successfully with the media, and
developing and implementing the best economic development plan.
The four US mayors were William J. Althaus of York, Pennsylvania,
Cardell Cooper of East Orange, New Jersey, Theodore D. Mann of
Newton, Massachusetts, and Carol Whiteside of Modesto, California.
Polish TV to Feature USIA's English-Teaching
Series
. Polish national television will feature teaching
materials from USIA's English Language Programs Division,
including Macmillan Company's "Family Album, USA." Also, the
Spectrum English-teaching series will be used at 20 Polish
teacher-training colleges. Peace Corps volunteers assigned to other
teachers colleges will also use sets of the Spectrum series.
Boston Police Help Polish Police
. A six-
member delegation of Boston police officers and union officials
visited Poland from September 26 to October 6 to help that
country's police adapt to democracy. In what was described as the
first visit by US police officers since Poland became a democracy,
the Boston police contingent rode in patrol cars and advised their
counterparts on issues such as internal investigations, community
relations, and union-state relationships. The delegation had been
invited by Solidarity's newly created police union and was
scheduled to meet with Lech Walesa and Poland's Minister of the
State Office of Protection.
Romania
US Library Reopens in Bucharest
. On September 10,
the US library in Bucharest reopened to huge crowds after being
closed for 5 weeks for renovation. More than 1,300 people visited
the library during the first 2 days it was open, which was triple the
level of the pre-revolution days. The library staff also is
distributing tens of thousands of US books donated through the
Romanian Relief Fund to universities, polytechnic institutes, and
research institutions throughout Romania.
Economic Update on Yugoslavia
Economic Trends--
-- Industrial production increased 1% in 1989. In January-
August 1990, industrial production by the socialized sector was
10% lower than a year earlier. Private sector economic activity
appears to be increasing.
-- Inflation was 2,665% and rising in 1989. The program
introduced by Premier Markovic at the beginning of 1990 slowed
inflation to near zero by the second quarter (March-June), but the
retail price level of all goods and services rose 5% in July when
prices controlled by the government were raised. Wages increased
during the summer.
-- Unemployment probably is increasing in 1990. Reliable
figures are not available.
Hard Currency Trade and Debt--
-- Yugoslavia posted a hard currency trade deficit of $1.5
billion and a current account surplus of $2 billion in 1989. The
hard currency trade deficit was $1.3 billion in the first half of
1990 although exports were up by one-third. In the services
account, receipts from tourism increased 50% over the 1989 level.
-- Foreign debt totals $16.5 billion. Reserves are $10 billion.
The debt-service ratio is 20%.
Trade With the USSR--
-- Trade with the USSR was changed to a hard currency basis
at the beginning of August 1990, which probably shifted the terms
of trade against Yugoslavia.
-- Yugoslavia imports oil, coking coal, raw materials, and
some machinery from the USSR. Yugoslavia exports machinery,
medicines, and consumer goods to the USSR.
Status of Economic Reform--
-- The Yugoslav currency, the dinar, has been convertible
since January 1, 1990 (1 dinar = about $0.10).
-- Most restrictions on private activity and foreign
investment have been removed. Some 10,200 private firms were
started in January-May. By late July, foreign companies had signed
1,960 contracts to invest a total of $1 billion.
-- The Yugoslav Assembly passed a law this year to regulate
wage increases. Premier Markovic has proposed laws to require
privatization of enterprises, to restructure failing banks, and to
strengthen the hand of managers in labor relations. The Republic of
Serbia, however, opposes privatization and the Republics of Croatia
and Slovenia are blocking efforts to strengthen federal taxing
powers. Moreover, republics are propping up inefficient
enterprises, authorizing big pay increases, and withholding
payments due to the federal government.(###)
US Department of State Dispatch,
Vol 1, No 9, October 29, 1990
Title: Ambassadorial Appointments, August-September 1990
Date: Oct 29, 199010/29/90
Category: Ambassadorial Appointments
Country: Austria, Bulgaria, Comoros, Micronesia,
Mozambique, Namibia, Poland
Subject: State Department
[TEXT]
Austria--Roy M. Huffington, August 6, 1990
Bulgaria--Hugh Kenneth Hill, August 6, 1990
Comoros--Kenneth Noel Peltier, August 6, 1990
Micronesia--Aurelia Erskine Brazeal, August 6, 1990
Mozambique--Townsend B. Friedman Jr., August 6, 1990
Namibia--Genta Hawkins Holmes, August 6, 1990
Poland--Thomas W. Simons Jr., August 6, 1990
(###)