WINE, GMOS, AND WTO DISCUSSIONS WITH NORWAY

UNCLAS OSLO 001494 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS THE HAGUE FOR FAS ROGER WENTZEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD PREL NO SUBJECT: WINE, GMOS, AND WTO DISCUSSIONS WITH NORWAY ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Wine imports, GMOs, and WTO were the main topics of discussion during Agriculture Attache Roger Wentzel's introductory visit to Oslo on December 4. Wentzel heard Norwegian Agriculture and Food Safety officials explain their anti-GM stance, MFA officials express little hope for reviving the Doha round, and Fisheries Ministry officials discuss how best to work with Russian Agriculture inspectors. U.S.-Norwegian cooperation on bioenergy research was also discussed during Wentzel's one day visit. END SUMMARY Amcham and U.S. Wine Promotion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) First stop was a meeting with Amcham and wine importers to discuss prospects for increasing U.S. wine sales in Norway. With only 2 percent market share, a low price point, and 75 percent tax rates, premium U.S. wines are a tough sell. Compounding the marketing problem is Vinmonopolet's (the Norwegian state wine monopoly) ban on advertising. Despite these obstacles, Wentzel told the group that the California Wine Institute had arranged a tasting at Vinmonopolet for January and hoped to get more California wines stocked. DCM had earlier urged the new Vinmonopolet chairman to be open to U.S. wines, getting a positive response in words, if not yet in deeds. Ag Ministry Pushes Organic Foods, Defends Anti-GM Bias - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) Director General for Food Safety at the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture Guri Tveito outlined the Ministry's plans to boost organic food production and consumption by 15 percent in the next seven years. She told us that U.S. organic producers could import products into Norway provided their organic certification procedures met with Norwegian approval. According to Tveito, up to this point U.S. organic producers have not tested the Norwegian certification system. Turning to GM products, Tveito explained that Norway would maintain its restrictive GM stance and that "more information won't help" change the government's policy and Norwegian consumer preferences regarding the benefits and safety of GM products. ¶4. (U) Discussions on GMOs continued at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority where we learned that in early 2007, Norway will adopt EU GMO regulations and that Norway will be required to review all remaining EU approved GMOs by July ¶2007. Norway would presumably still be able to reject GM products because its approval system applies less-scientific criteria, such as societal benefit and ethical justification. Food Safety Authority officials also mentioned that they were working on resolving one bilateral issue with the U.S. -- removing the ban on products derived from ruminant animals because of BSE. According to Norwegians, Norway never had BSE and should not be included in the multi-country ban. WTO and Russian Veterinary Inspections - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (SBU) At lunch meetings, MFA WTO officials expressed pessimism about resumption of Doha negotiations, since all sides seem to be locked in their positions. Also, given that time is running out on the U.S. Administration's Trade Promotion Authority, they feel that the opportunity to reach a resolution has passed. Fisheries Ministry officials were interested in knowing how we handled Russian veterinary inspection requirements under the US-Russia WTO agreement. Norwegians want to be certain that Russia applies the same inspection standards to Norwegian salmon processing facilities as are in place for U.S. poultry processing facilities. Cooperation on Bioenergy, More on GMOs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (U) Agriculture State Secretary Per Harald Grue briefed us on a bioenergy research program with the University of Minnesota that seeks to convert biomass into second generation biofuel. Norway is taking a long term approach to the issue and Grue said results would likely be a decade away, but the cooperation is positive nonetheless. Turning to biotech research, Grue maintained that Norway is not unwilling to pursue biotech research but Norwegians prefer to focus on non-food applications which they see as providing 80 percent of the technology's economic potential. He too sees no change in Norwegian consumer's anti-GM bias and framed the consumer preference issue in ethical terms. ¶7. (U) USDA Agriculture Attache Robert Wentzle cleared on this cable. Whitney