IRELAND: EU HAS HIT THE LIMIT ON WTO AG

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001279

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ETRD WTRO
SUBJECT: IRELAND: EU HAS HIT THE LIMIT ON WTO AG
NEGOTIATIONS

REF: A. STATE 190730

B. YOUNG-EU TRADE OFFICERS 10/17 E-MAIL


1. On October 17, Post Agricultural Specialist delivered ref
A demarche to Damian Flynn, Department of Agriculture and
Food (DAF) EU Trade Office Principal Officer. Flynn said
that the GOI was scrutinizing the October 10 U.S. proposal,
but conveyed DAF's view that the Commission had already
offered as much as it could in the WTO ag negotiations. He
noted that Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlin had said as
much in an October 13 statement calling on the Commission to
defend the CAP. (Note: In her statement, Coughlin said that
the U.S. offer was welcome, but she expressed concern that
the Commission had been "unnecessarily forthcoming in its
response." She also listed Irish priority areas for the
negotiations, including maximum phase-out periods for export
subsidies and guarantees that decoupled payments to farmers
would continue to qualify as allowable Green Box payments.
Ref B lists a link to Minister Coughlin's statement on the
DAF website.) Flynn added that Ireland, along with 12 other
Member States, had fully endorsed a memorandum by French
Agriculture Minister Bussereau to EU Agriculture Commissioner
Fischer Boel on growing unease regarding the Commission's
negotiating strategy.


2. On October 17, Post also delivered ref A demarche to Tony
Joyce, Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment (DETE)
Senior Trade Negotiator and Ireland's 133 Committee
Titulaire. Joyce said that the GOI welcomed the
reinvigoration of agricultural trade negotiations prompted by
the October 10 U.S. proposal, which he characterized as
far-reaching in certain areas, though lacking specificity in
others, particularly regarding export subsidies. He observed
that Ireland would continue to review the U.S. proposal, but
he cited assurances from EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson to
133 Committee members on October 14 that the Commission would
not go beyond CAP reform limits in the negotiations. He
expressed hope that Mandelson could be creative within those
limits. Joyce also related, more generally, that Ireland
remained concerned with seeming failures to address
developing countries' needs in the run-up to the Hong Kong
ministerial, as reflected in the lack of progress on the NAMA
and services components of the Doha negotiations.
KENNY