ATFA has vigorously urged U.S. officials to make the issue of Argentina honoring its sovereign debt obligations a priority matter in the US-Argentine bilateral dialogue. ATFA leadership and members have recently conducted numerous meetings at the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury and with other senior Executive Branch officials. They also have briefed Members of Congress and numerous associations on the adverse effects of Argentina's debt policies on American bondholders, investors, taxpayers and businesses.

The U.S. Department of State's newly-updated, official Argentina "Background Notes" profile, for the first time, includes explicit language on the need for the Argentine government to resolve its outstanding debt issues with both its private and official creditors. Acknowledging the importance of foreign direct investment for Argentina's economic growth, the report also warns of the increasing damage to the Argentine economy from its government's failure to resolve its outstanding debt issues:

"Continuing Argentine arrears to international creditors (including over $20 billion in default claims by international bondholders and over $6 billion owed to official creditors, including the U.S. Government) and a large number of arbitration claims filed by foreign companies are legacies of the 2001/2002 economic crisis that remain to be resolved and adversely impact Argentina's investment climate..."

"I am very pleased to see this important shift in our government's public position on the debt issue," said ATFA Co-chair Dr. Robert Shapiro. "The senior officials that we have briefed in our visits to the State and Treasury Departments, the White House and on Capitol Hill have all been very receptive, and it is now clear that they understand the importance of pushing for a fair resolution in the interest of American bondholders. This is a very promising step toward achieving ATFA's basic goal of reopening talks between holdouts and the Argentine government. We will continue our efforts until Argentina returns to the negotiating table in good faith. Now is the time for Argentina to act," he added.

For more information on ATFA, please visit http://www.atfa.org/. To view the complete "Background Notes" document, click here: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26516.htm.

ATFA, through a variety of events and research initiatives, works to encourage the United States government and other Argentine debt stakeholders to take action on behalf of American taxpayers, businesses and bondholders. ATFA's website, http://www.atfa.org/, serves as a clearinghouse for news and information related to Argentina's restructuring and the ATFA's efforts.

Made up of major creditor groups, the ATFA is co-chaired by 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.