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UNCLAS LA PAZ 001832 
C O R R E C T E D   C O P Y - APPROVER INCORRECT. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP BTIO ETRD ECON BL
SUBJECT: 2010 BFIF Proposal: Building AMCHAM Capacity and Promoting 
Corporate Social Responsibility 
 
REF: 09STATE126674 
 
¶1.       Embassy La Paz is pleased to respond to EEB/CBA's 
Solicitation for 2010 Business Facilitation Incentive Fund program 
proposals with a request for funding for two projects:  1) capacity 
building for the American Chamber of Commerce Bolivia (AMCHAM 
Bolivia) and 2) support for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 
and "Doing Business with America" programming at ExpoCruz 2010. 
These projects are designed to support the State Department's goals 
of encouraging private sector growth and investment and opening 
markets and creating opportunities for U.S. goods and services. 
 
________________________________ 
 
Project 1:  Capacity Building for the American Chamber of Commerce 
in Bolivia 
 
________________________________ 
 
¶2.       With the AMCHAM Bolivia Board of Director's concurrence, 
Post would like to use BFIF funds to build capacity at the chamber 
to track and advocate for trade policy benefitting United States 
and Bolivian trade and expand business facilitation services for 
Bolivian businesses.  Current Government of Bolivia economic policy 
rejects capitalism in favor of state control and management, with 
President Morales regularly stating that "capitalism is the 
greatest enemy of humanity."  This, combined with the general 
downturn in the American economy and the cancelation of Bolivian's 
trade preferences under the Andean Trade Preference and Drug 
Eradication Act (ATPDEA), has led to a diminished American business 
community presence and a decline in overall bilateral trade. 
 
¶3.       In this context, AMCHAM Bolivia is struggling to maintain 
its relevance, yet with over 16,500 companies and individuals as 
members, including many of the largest corporations operating in 
the country, it retains a significant and active membership who 
would like to see trade between the United States and Bolivia 
resurge.  It is also a logical venue for promoting the benefits of 
free trade and highlighting the contributions a market economy can 
offer a society.  Recent AMCHAM activity has been focused around 
meetings and seminars on these topics, which in response to a 
survey conducted the last year, the membership said it found 
interesting, but not terribly relevant.  Discussion of this finding 
and the operating context, has led to strong board support for 
adding a trade policy project and for strengthening business 
facilitation services offered by the chamber. 
 
¶4.       Both the Embassy Commercial Office and AMCHAM Bolivia 
receive periodic requests from Bolivian businesses looking to 
export to the United States, and to a lesser extent Bolivian 
businesses looking for American suppliers or other types of 
American partnerships.  These Bolivian businesses find it difficult 
and inconvenient to come to the U.S. Embassy and in some cases are 
looking for specialized services, such as background checks or 
product or brand promotion that the Embassy does not offer.  Seeing 
this situation as an opportunity , the AMCHAM Bolivia Board would 
like to explore the possibility of a partnership that builds AMCHAM 
Bolivia's capacity to provide the following types of services to 
Bolivian businesses:  tracking of both Unites States and Bolivian 
trade issues, development of and advocacy for trade policy 
recommendations (in coordination with other industry associations 
as appropriate), technical assistance to (new) exporters to the 
U.S. market, coordination of Bolivian industry participation in 
U.S. trade shows, and responding to general inquiries about doing 
business with the United States from Bolivian businesses.  The 
AMCHAM Bolivia has indicated its willingness to devote office space 
and the services of administrative staff to this effort.  However, 
there is currently no one on the Chamber's staff with the 
background to handle the research and customer service aspects of 
this effort. 
 
¶5.       Post requests BFIF support for: the first six months 
salary of a new hire ($6,000), new hire training at AACCLA 
($6,000), and the purchase and installation of web-based 
import-export resources and matching making tools ($3,000).  It is 
anticipated that after six months, the chamber will pick up the 
salary of the trade analyst. 
 
¶6.       Total Budget Request: $15,000 
 
 
________________________________ 
 
Project 2:  Corporate Social Responsibility and "Doing Business 
with America" Programming at ExpoCruz 2010 
 
________________________________ 
 
¶7.       For the past several years, AMCHAM Bolivia has organized 
the USA Pavilion at Bolivia's largest trade show, ExpoCruz, held 
every September in Santa Cruz.  This show has been a U.S. 
Department of Commerce certified trade fair for many years and is 
applying again in 2010.  Post would like to use BFIF funds to 
promote Corporate Social Responsibility issues, and underwrite a 
"How to Do Business with the U.S." seminar at the fair.  Post 
believes that this widely attended and highly visible venue 
provides an excellent opportunity to promote a shared Bolivian and 
U.S. interest in the social contributions of private enterprise and 
highlight U.S. interest in maintaining an active trade portfolio 
with Bolivia. 
 
¶8.       Post will use BFIF funds to register for booth space 
within the American Pavilion at the show and will offer several 
local NGOs working on CSR issues including el Consejo Empresarial 
para el Desarrollo Sostenible (CEDES), Instituto Boliviano de 
Comercio Exterior (IBCE), and Centro para Promocion de Technologias 
Sostenibles (CPTS), a USAID grantee, the opportunity to staff the 
booth and promote their work.  Post will work with AMCHAM Bolivia 
and relevant US organizations to identify U.S. private sector CSR 
exemplars and invite them to participate in ExpoCruz within the 
American Pavilion.  Post has included a request for a CSR expert as 
part of our 2010 Speakers Program requests.  Ideally, this person 
would be available to make a presentation at the fair. 
 
¶9.       At the same show, Post would like to complement our AMCHAM 
Bolivia capacity building initiative described above by supporting 
an AMCHAM-sponsored "Doing Business with the United States" 
seminar.  Possible speakers for the "Doing Business with the U.S. 
program are a Commercial Service representative from another 
Embassy in the region; the new trade analyst and business 
facilitation specialist hired into the AMCHAM; a specialist from 
the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC; and representatives 
from AMCHAM member businesses that have successfully entered into 
partnerships with U.S. companies or who are currently exporting to 
the United States.  The proposed agenda includes discussion of 
finding a U.S. partner, what U.S. companies need and want from 
local partners, how to import products from Bolivia to the U.S., 
and business facilitation services offered by the AMCHAM to member 
companies.  If this project is approved, Post will use fees 
generated through our fee-for-service business facilitation program 
to repeat the seminar at a venue in the city of La Paz while the 
speakers are in the country. 
 
¶10.   Post requests BFIF funding for:  trade show registration fees 
($2,000) and for travel and per diem for speakers ($5,000). 
 
¶11.   Total Budget Request:  $7,000. 
 
¶12.   Please do not hesitate to contact Lori Michaelson, Economic 
Officer, for additional information about either of these proposals 
(michaelsonlj@state.gov or 202-370-6257 
  x8862). 
Creamer