U.S. move to restore relations with Chile

Press, 31 October 1981, Page 7

U.S. move to restore relations with Chile

NZPA staff correspondent Washington The United States is moving to restore full relations with Chile, which remains subject to a trade ban imposed by the New Zealand Federation of Labour. The United States senate has voted to repeal a five-year-old ban on military assistance to the Government of General Augusto Pinochet, subject to President Reagan’s Administration satisfying Congress that Chile has made “significant progress” on human rights. At the same time, official figures showed that Chile has become a big market for United States agricultural exports, taking SUS32O million worth of foodstuffs last year. The United States supplied 40 per cent of all Chile’s food imports during 1980. The Wellington Chamber of Commerce recently renewed the attacks of New Zealand exporters on the F.O.L. because of its ban on trade with Chile. The chamber’s immediate past-presi-dent, Mr Steve Reidy, said that Chile had SUS2SO million worth of trade with countries

in the socialist bloc, including the Soviet Union. Mr Reidy said that as a result of the ban, New Zealand was losing millions of dollars worth of trade, which was being handed to competitors, including Australia, where a trade union ban had been dropped. The United States Department of Agriculture said in a special report just published in Washington that with the rapidly developing Chilean economy and an increasingly affluent population, Chile’s imports of processed agricultural products were on the rise. The report said that Chile was fast emerging as an important market for United States agriculture exports, mainly wheat, corn, refined sugar,' and tobacco. While New Zealand does

not export these items,, the report added: “The country also exports sizeable quantities of food items such as milk products and edible oils to augment domestic production.

“Domestic milk production is increasing, but powdered imports are still required," said the report, which was prepared by Mr Lawrence R. Fouchs, the United States Agriculural Attache in Santiago. “The beef and dairy sectors now offer a good opportunity for breeding cattle sales.” Mr Fouchs said.

In Wellington earlier this month, Mr Reidy said that New Zealand’s dairy trade with Chile — valued at SNZ2O million six years ago when the F.O.L. ban was imposed — could have been worth SNZ6O million todav.

The previous Carter Administration had ended United States military assistance to Chile because of President Pinochet’s human rights record. The United States Senate has approved the resumption of aid if President Pinochet certifies that Chile has made “significant progress in complying with internationally recognised standards of human rights.” There is no sign that the United States Administration is about to resume military aid to Chile, but the move was seen as a victory for President Reagan who is moving to improve ties with military regimes in Latin America. Last month the United States Senate voted to repeal a similar ban on arms sales and aid to Argentina.