IRELAND UNABLE TO RESPOND ON POSSIBLE WTO DISPUTE

UNCLAS DUBLIN 000968 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD AORC KIPR EURM WTRO USTR EI SUBJECT: IRELAND UNABLE TO RESPOND ON POSSIBLE WTO DISPUTE REGARDING CHINA IPR REF: STATE 126703 (SBU) The summer holiday season has precluded an Irish Government response to reftel points regarding USTR's possible request for WTO dispute settlement consultations on Chinese IPR enforcement, according to Carmel Hegarty, Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment (DETE) trade specialist, with whom econoff has discussed reftel demarche three times since initial delivery on August 8. Hegarty noted in each discussion that ranking DETE trade/IPR officials, including Senior Trade Negotiator/133 Titulaire Tony Joyce, would be unavailable until the final week of August. There could be no Irish response to reftel points without prior consultation among these officials, she said. Hegarty added that, even if these officials were available, the Irish Government would not be in a position to respond absent consultation with the Commission and other EU Member States, which, again, would be difficult in the current holiday period. She recommended that Post wait until early September to take up reftel points with DETE officials as they resumed work. (Comment: Post doubts that Ireland will take a position on the China IPR case until after the 133 Committee has had an opportunity to discuss the U.S. demarche.) KENNY