[ARG] Call to the US

[Naio90]

The argentine ambassador in Washington would request a private videoconference with the Director for Latinamerican Affairs, or its equivalent, of the Department of State, to dicuss commercial affairs.

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

The Argentine Ambassador, or whomever he had scheduling the videoconference, would likely get in touch with the Department of State. The diplomatic operator whom spoke with the ambassador, or the ambassador's representative, would give him the following recommendations:

Brooke West, Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs
Under Secretary West, who was the head of the Office of International Security Affairs, would be the appropriate official to contact for the procurement of arms, vehicles, or other military equipment.

Ryan Brown, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Assistant Secretary Brown, who was under the Office of Political Affairs, would be appropriate official to contact for general matters of international affairs.

Wanda Porter, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
Under Secretary Porter, who was under the Department of Commerce and not the Department of State, would be the appropriate person for the ambassador to contact in regards to international commerce, specifically trade between the United States and Argentina.


Regardless of which one of the above the Argentinian Ambassador would choose, he or she would insist on a face-to-face meeting at either the Harry S. Truman Building (Department of State) or the Herbert C. Hoover Building (Department of Commerce). If requested, the federal government would offer a ride in government vehicles and protection from Diplomatic Security Service agents from the State Department while the ambassador was in transit. All of the aforementioned would be communicated privately.
Naio90

 

[Naio90]

The secretary would review the indicated contacts and consult with the Ambassador, who would decide that for the issues to be discussed, the most pertinent person to talk to would be Ms Wanda Porter, the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.

With this instructions, the secretary would request a private meeting at the earliest convenience of the Undersecretary. The Ambassador would also indicated that he would be arriving in his own official vehicle and that no additional security was required, thanking for the offered service.

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

The Argentine embassy would be securely informed that five DSS agents in two black, unmarked government vehicles would shadow the ambassador's motorcade in case there were any issues. Secretary Porter would be available that afternoon for a meeting, and would invite the Argentine Ambassador. The Secretary's personal secretary would wait for the ambassador and, once he arrived, greet him and escort him upstairs to a diplomatic reception room on the top floor of the Herbert C. Hoover Building. There, Mrs. Porter would be waiting for him.
Naio90

 

[Naio90]

The Ambassador would leave the Embassy headed to the Herbert C. Hoover building together with his second in charge and another diplomat to act as notetaker. He would arrive at present himself at the reception, showing his credentials.

Once brought to the meeting room he would politely greet Undersecretary Porter and introduce himself and his companions.

"Undersecretary Porter, thank you for receiveing us so swiftly."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

“It’s no issue, Ambassador. I’m happy to host you. Please, take a seat, how May I be of assistance?” she asked as they sat down in the comfortable room. They were offered a handful of refreshments if needed, but the American and Argentine delegations were then otherwise left alone.
Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Well, my Government has come to the attention that the relation between the two biggest nations in terms of combined military, economy and perhaps international influence is nearly non-existent. We understand that improving this bilateral relation can only benefit our coutnries adn in the long term build a bridge of trust.

The US has had a rather conflictive history with latin america in the past, but we are willing to look over it, since your Administration can hardly be blamed for that.

As such, we were interested in exploring commerce as a suitable first step to work together. We plan to present you with two propositions.

The first one is creating new maritime trade routes between Argentina and the USA. We are looking for new markets for our vehicles, lithium, grain, meat and soy derivates, and in return would also open the argentine market for US products. And secondly, propose you a deal similar to the one Argentina had with the Russian Federation and was commonly known as RusAr.

Now, before you say something, we are aware your Administration might be reluctant to such an agreement due to the lack of recent exchange, but we are confident that we can be of valuable help to you. We have experience in efficient handling and production of foreign equipment and have allowed for Russia not only to earn billions, but also to free governmental resources to focus on more urgent matters, instead of having to micromanage and meddle with burocratic and commercial sales that could easily be outsourced.

We are willing to offer an initial "limited" stage, where the US would only include in this agreement a selected group of products, to test how it works. Obviously we would agree in including several clauses of confidenciality and accountability for you to oversee and control everything. Finally, Argentina is not interested in procuring any DPR for our own use -unlike with RusAr- since our armed forces do not rely on US equipment in general, and would only produce for external clients, approved by the US."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"I can tell you that my government will see Argentina's first move towards bilateral relations in a positive light. I am of course more than happy to discuss commercial commerce between the United States and Argentina. Our ports in Houston, Texas are open for business, and we are prepared to export the products that we have available," she replied.

"That being said, I cannot formally negotiate on behalf of the Department of Defense when it comes to the export of military weapons, or the kind of deal that you would like to achieve. From one diplomat to another, however, I can tell you that DoD has just reformed American Defense Sales so that they can offer Limited Production Licenses. This was done in order to lessen the work load on the Department of Defense and allow us to approve sales more quickly. Considering that your government does not even meet the qualifications needed to purchase military equipment from the United States - the salient qualification being membership in the Global Assembly - I am not sure how successful you would be in bringing that offer to the State Department or the Department of Defense. Such a deal has never been considered in American history, and quite honestly I know that we were baffled that the Russians agreed to it. Permission for such a thing would have to come directly from the White House, considering President Gore's recent executive order on the arms trade. I wish you the best of luck, but I would not be too optimistic if you wished to peruse that further," she concluded.

"What ports in Argentina would be available for American commercial vessels?" she asked.
Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Very good. The Argentine Republic is looking for new markets for our vehicles, grain, soy derivates and lithium. We also currently export petroleum and natural gas, if required.

What products and commodities does the US currently export?

As for the marketing of US products, we thank you for your input, I will let the experts back in Argentina know of the situation and I understand they will adjust the proposal or delay it until a better moment presents itself."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"The current products and commodities that we have to offer are: automobiles, integrated circuits, medical instruments, refined petroleum, and vegetable foodstuffs. It's nice to see that we only have minimal overlap - I am sure that the United States and Argentina can establish a healthy trade relationship," she said.

"I am happy to continue this discussion, but a colleague of mine at the State Department called me while you were on the way here. He specifically requested that I ask you if your government would be interested in cooperating with the United States and the other nations of the New World, specifically in a kind of partnership that would involve preventing invasion or colonization of the New World. I know that doesn't provide much context, but is there any specific answer you would like me to give him?" she asked.
Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"We would be interested in gaining access to the US lithium and grain markets, while in return we could reciprocate with US integrated circuits and medical instruments being commercialized in Argentina. If this is something of itnerest for you, we could procede with a bilateral treaty and the corresponding paper work.

As for the other issue, it is a delicate topic, and obviously it would require me to contact Buenos Aires on the matter, but I can tell you that decolonization, specially within the America's is a key issue in our foreign agenda. Specially since there are still around 20 colonies under the control of extra continental powers in our continents, clearly violating the rights for national territorial integrity of american nations in some cases and in others self-determination. Something that is unacceptable. But to be honest, I'm surprised the US is taking interst in such a matter."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"Well... as I said, preventing future invasion or colonization would be the goal of this organization. So, for example, Dutch colonial islands like Aruba would not be considered something to confront. From what the State Department told me, the general idea is that it would of course prevent further colonization, as well as any kind of invasion of any New World nation. However, that's all the information I have on the matter as my primary focus is trade... If you are interested in pursuing this matter further, please let the Secretary of State's office know and he can get the ball rolling," she said.

"Furthermore, we're certainly open to trading the commodities that we have listed. I am looking forward to our countries establishing commerce," she said.
Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"I see, well, I can hardly envison Argentina accompanying something that implicitly ignores the current colonies in the americas, as supporting an argument that seeks only to prevent future conflicts would only mean we inherently accept the status quo. Having the Argentine Republic territory currently under extra continental military occupation, that is something 100% out of the question for us, as such a proposal would only favor the countries currently holding colonies in our continents.

If your Department of Foreign Affairs can come up with a proposals that calls for the current colonial situations in the americas to be reviewed and peacefully negotiated by the involved parties, we would gladly sit down and discuss our potential support, including that of our allies."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"The primary focus would be to establish an alliance for the collective defense of the Western Hemisphere; but, it is of course the right of your country to decline to participate. I'll pass along what you have said to the State Department," she said. She would then begin the paperwork for the two nations to conduct trade between each other. This would not take much time at all and would be done quite rapidly. Once the paperwork was ready, she would reserve a copy for the United States, and present a copy for Argentina.

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"The US historically followed your "Monroe" Doctrine of rejecting extra continental intervention in the americas, something that didnt work out really well for us, thats why we are hesitant about your proposal.

Colonialism is a problem of the past with repercursions in the present, we cannot aspire to solve this issue by ignoring all those decades and centuries of abuse, even less when we all know that in todays geopolitical context it is very unlikely that new cases of colonialism will arise, at least here in the americas. Again, if your Department of State is willing to include something to ammend that, we would be more than willing to collaborate with the US in finding the proper wording and articles."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"That would be something for you to discuss with the State Department, I'm just the messenger. But as I said, I will be sure to pass along what you have said to the State Department," she said. It was at this moment that Wanda was thankful that she worked for the Department of Commerce and not the Department of State - while they were paid better and constantly got to travel abroad, they had to have these difficult discussions with other countries that she was not interested in having. However, high-ranking discussions on international trade and commerce were her forte. She almost started to day dream about how much lobster the United States would be exporting abroad before she refocused and started organizing the paperwork.

Naio90