HispanicBusiness

WASHINGTON, May 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Task Force Argentina gathered over 60 participants at the U.S. Capitol for an Argentine Debt Congressional Roundtable co-hosted by Representatives Steve Israel (D-NY) and Dan Burton (R-IN) yesterday to brief lawmakers on how the Argentine default has hurt U.S. taxpayers and what U.S. Congress can to do rectify Argentina's bad acts.

ATFA Executive Director, Robert Raben, led the discussion explaining that Argentina is now in a place where the government can return to the negotiating table with her creditors and offer a fair deal. With no access to international capital markets and the need to levy export taxes on the agriculture sector to make up for the country's financing shortfall, it is time for Argentina to adopt significant economic and political reforms.

"The silver lining of the Argentine debt problem may be that it's highlighted a serious omission in the U.S. law that needs to be addressed," said Raben. "Most people in this room understand that when we make contracts or lose court judgments, we follow the rules and have to pay what we owe. Right now those rules do not apply to foreign sovereigns, so our citizens have no effective way of recovering what they're owed and our own investors, taxpayers, businesses, teachers and farmers end up holding the bag."

Mr. Raben went on to outline U.S. Congressional legislative remedies and called on the lawmakers to sponsor such legislation.

Also participating on the panel was Dr. David Tuerck, a professor at Suffolk University and a pension holder of TIAA-CREF, a pension fund that lost over $100 million dollars due to Argentina's debt default and restructuring, and Chuck Kiker with the U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA), an ATFA member.

Chuck Kiker, USCA Animal Health Director stated, "Argentina is a matter of great importance to the U.S. Cattlemen's Association, and like ATFA we are concerned about Argentina's historic loan default and the unfair advantages it gives Argentine agriculture. USCA is also concerned with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's proposed rule to increase meat imports from Argentina, despite Argentina's documented foot and mouth disease (FMD) problem. USCA is calling upon USDA to withdraw this problematic rule; and if they don't, we hope Congress will ensure this proposed rule is not implemented."

Made up of an alliance of organizations, ATFA's leadership includes its two co-chairs, the Honorable Robert J. Shapiro, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Clinton Administration and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Ambassador at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2001. The Executive Director is Mr. Robert Raben, former Assistant Attorney General during the Clinton administration.

For additional information, please visit our new website at http://www.atfa.org/, or contact media@atfa.org, or +1-888-662-2382. American Task Force Argentina

Web Site: http://www.atfa.org/