67. Telegram From the Department of State to the AlCancun Collective1
277464. USEC/USOECD also for Embassy. Subject: Speech by President Reagan on the Cancun Summit. Ref: State 275404.2 Embassies pass PAO’s.
1. Reftel provided text of speech delivered by President Reagan on October 15. Action addressees are requested to arrange a pre-Cancun briefing at highest level on U.S. policy towards LDCs as outlined in speech. It is especially important that Cancun participants have accurate and balanced perspective on President’s views given tendency of early press coverage to single out certain elements of his address.
2. In summarizing the speech, posts should include the following points:
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- This speech, combined with the President’s and Secretary Regan’s Bank/Fund addresses and Secretary Haig’s UN speech in September demonstrate the high level of administration interest in developing countries.
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- U.S. policy towards developing countries, for the first time, integrates all important elements into a single comprehensive package: trade, investment, finance, foreign assistance, and private sector activities.
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- Our policy involves particular development strategies tailored to the specific needs and potential of individual developing countries. We see trade and private investment as central elements of the development process. We emphasize concessional assistance for the poorest countries, to help them address their pressing problem in ways which improve human productivity, and trade policy and investment opportunities for the more advanced developing nations.
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- The private sector recommendations should be put into perspective. Critics have rebutted U.S. statements with “the private sector can’t do it all”. A close examination of this and other speeches [Page 187] will make it clear that, far from viewing the private sector as the exclusive vehicle for development, we are proposing a balanced approach. In recent years insufficient attention has been given to opportunities for private sector participation not only in developing countries but internationally. Yet as World Bank President Clausen recently pointed out 50% of the gross domestic product in the developing world today is produced by the private sector.
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- The speech explicitly recognizes the fact that “government and private enterprise complement each other. They have, can and must continue to co-exist and cooperate.” The fundamental objective is development and individual fulfillment through the mobilization of all resources, whether public or private, and support for policies and institutions which contribute directly and effectively to this process.
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- The speech includes significant U.S. commitments on trade: our pledge to continue our GSP program and work for an effective safeguards code, and our intention to support continued expansion of developing nations’ access to our markets. We in particular want to work closely with LDCs in preparing for the GATT Ministerial.
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- It is also important to underline the President’s firm and unambiguous support for the international finance institutions (World Bank and International Monetary Fund).
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- Finally, the proposals in food and energy provide a constructive approach and lay the groundwork for future discussions on how the international community might improve and expand its efforts to assist developing countries in these areas.
- Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D810491–0349. Limited Official Use; Immediate. Sent for information priority to all diplomatic posts. Drafted by Constable (EB/IFD); cleared by Meissner and Nau; approved by Hormats.↩
- Telegram 275404 to all diplomatic posts, October 15, transmitted the text of Reagan’s October 15 speech to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia on the subject of economic development policy and the Cancun Summit. (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D810487–0567)↩