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ATFA Supporters Deliver 1,800 Argentine Debt Default Letters to Secretary Paulson, Germany Visit Announced
Press Release
March 28, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, March 29, 2007 Contact: info@atfa.org
1-888-662-2382
www.atfa.org


WASHINGTON - Today, the American Task Force Argentina (ATFA) announced that over 1,800 letters have been sent to Treasury Department Secretary Henry Paulson, insisting that the United States inform Argentine President Nestor Kirchner that his country must pay more than $3 billion owed to American investors.

The ATFA launched an electronic letter desk on its website (www.atfa.org) last week, encouraging thousands of Americans to sign a letter to Secretary Paulson requesting that the United States work to see that Argentina honor its debts and "protect the integrity of the current system of international lending to developing countries." To participate or see the full text of the letter, please visit: http://ga3.org/campaign/atfa_outreach. The letter was promoted by e-mail outreach and advertisements on the popular Drudge Report website.

"Our letter initiative sent a clear signal to Secretary Paulson that Americans care about Argentina's refusal to honor its debts owed to American investors," said ATFA Co-Chairman Robert J. Shapiro. "With more than $35 billion in reserves and negotiations underway to pay Paris Club creditors, Argentina is more than capable of repaying private bondholders. The question is why President Kirchner has not felt compelled to honor these contracts," Shapiro added.

Over the coming weeks, ATFA will build on the success of its initial letter campaign, reaching other officials with letters from the American people on the need for Argentina to honor its debts.

ATFA-IGA Germany Visit Joint Holdout Forum

The ATFA also announced today that ATFA Co-Chair Robert Shapiro will conduct a week-long visit to Germany during the week of April 23rd. While there, Shapiro will participate in a high-level joint bondholders' forum with Dr. Stefan Engelsberger of Germany's IGA (First German Society of Bondholders) and others, release new statistics on the impact of Argentina's restructuring and meet with senior officials in the German Government in advance of the G8 summit on the need to address Argentina's refusal to honor its debt obligations.

"Germans were hit very hard by the terms of Argentina's restructuring," said Shapiro. "It is important that we work together to encourage Argentina's repayment of the $20 billion that remains outstanding before other countries make the same mistakes. The integrity of the system of international lending to developing countries is at risk if others follow the Argentine precedent," he added.

The ATFA executed in a similar visit in Rome in November of 2006, taking part in public forums and meeting with Government officials on the need to address the Argentine debt issue. Italians lost more than $17 billion in the restructuring. Additional details on ATFA's joint initiatives in Germany will follow.

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, 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.

For additional information, please visit our new website at www.atfa.org, or contact info@atfa.org, or +1-888-662-2382.

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