TAIWAN TIFA: SESSION 5: AGRICULTURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TAIPEI 001875

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC, STATE PASS USTR FOR DEPUTY USTR
BHATIA FROM DIRECTOR YOUNG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2031
TAGS: ECON TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN TIFA: SESSION 5: AGRICULTURE

REF: TAIPEI 1727

Classified By: AIT Deputy Director David J. Keegan, Reason 1.4 b


1. (C) Summary. In TIFA discussions between AIT and TECRO,
Taiwan agreed to discuss the establishment of a Consultative
Committee on Agriculture, to continue work on several
technical issues, and to rapidly conclude negotiations to
establish a rice CSQ. End summary.


2. (C) The Fifth U.S. - Taiwan TIFA meetings led by Deputy
U.S. Trade Representative (DUSTR) Ambassador Karan Bhatia
took place in Taipei on May 25 and 26, 2006. This cable
reports on session 5, which covered Agricultural Trade and
Market Access. The principle Taiwan participants this
session were Francis Liang from TECRO, Chih-peng Huang from
BOFT, and Tzu-Bin Huang from COA. The principle
representatives from the United States were Eric Altbach of
USTR, Roger Mireles of USDA, and Francis Ruzicka from AIT
Washington.


3. (C) Most of the conclusions reached during this session
were based on detailed discussions by the delegations on May
24, 2006. Over the course of both meetings: AIT and TECRO
agreed to hold discussions to establish a bilateral
Consultative Committee on Agriculture (CCA) that will address
agricultural trade and policy issues. BAPHIQ (Taiwan's
Bureau of Animal Plant Health, Inspection and Quarantine)
agreed to review BSE- related bans on non-ruminant products.
AIT and TECRO committed to improve cooperation on resolving
SPS issues and to adhere to the WTO SPS agreement and OIE
(World Animal Health Organization) guidelines in the
development of import requirements. The U.S. welcomed that
the Taiwan Department of Health conditionally lifted the ban
on import of U.S. beef on January 25, 2006. The U.S.
committed that it will continue to provide information on BSE
monitoring measures and related issues. AIT recognized the
importance of TECRO's market access request for pomello and
longan and will facilitate the approval process. The U.S.
also welcomed Taiwan's progress in reaching consensus on its
Country Specific Quota (CSQ) regime and supports the WTO
granting legal status to the new CSQ system as soon as
possible.


4. (C) Tzu-Bin Huang said that the Minister of the Council of
Agriculture (COA) supports establishing a CCA, but that COA
needs to consult with other ministries before agreeing to
establish a CCA. The Taiwan delegation inquired about the
level and extent of participants in a CCA. The U.S. replied
that it was open to many different possibilities. The U.S.
also emphasized that the CCA would not replace the annual
technical talks on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues.
Taiwan committed to respond to the draft proposal for a CCA
presented by AIT.


5. (C) The two sides reviewed the rice CSQ negotiations and
agreed that they are near conclusion. The U.S. has received
draft head-note and side letter language from Taiwan and
these are currently being reviewed by USTR and USDA. The
U.S. and Taiwan are in agreement on the WTO notification
procedure. The CSQ language needs to be submitted to the
WTO, preferably by June 15th to avoid complications due to
the need to contract for grain and Vietnam's probable WTO
accession. In a meeting on May 24, 2006, the U.S. rice
industry was informed of the importance of quickly reaching a
decision on the two remaining substantive issues. U.S.
industry has apparently backtracked on the number of tons of
a CSQ it is willing to give in order to bring Egypt up to a
more defensible level, and it wants to limit future increases
in the proportion of the quota allocated to the private
sector tendering process.


6. (U) USTR cleared this cable.
YOUNG