DUTCH RESPONSE TO USTR ZOELLICK LETTER ON DOHA

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000082

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: ETRD NL WTRO
SUBJECT: DUTCH RESPONSE TO USTR ZOELLICK LETTER ON DOHA
ROUND

REF: State 6662


1. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials confirm that
Minister Brinkhorst received Ambassador Zoellick's letter
and report that the Minister is "very pleased" with this
"unexpected initiative." The ideas put forward in the letter
correspond fairly closely with Brinkhorst's own views and
reinforce his hopes that 2004 not be seen as a wasted year
for the Doha Round talks.

2. Comment: Advancing the Doha Round negotiations has been
a top international economic policy objective of the Dutch
government. While the European Commission has the EU lead
on trade policy, we expect the Dutch will use whatever
influence they can muster during their July-December 2004 EU
presidency to push the EU toward pragmatic positions that
promote successful results.

3. Action request: We request authorization to release the
official text of the letter. Our Dutch press contacts claim
they been receiving bootleg copies from non-USG sources, and
we would like them to have the most accurate information on
which to base their stories.

Russel