JAMES MURPHY'S MEETING WITH KEY FRENCH AGRICULTURAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001294 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS BRUSSELS PASS USEU FOR AGMINCOUNSELOR STATE FOR OES; EUR/ERA; STATE PASS USTR FOR MURPHY; USDA/OS/JOHANNS/TERPSTRA; USDA/FAS FOR OA/YOST; LA/CHURCH; OCRA/CURTIS ONA/RIEMENSCHNEIDER FAA/YOUNG; EU POSTS PASS TO AGRICULTURE AND ECON GENEVA FOR USTR, ALSO AGRICULTURE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ETRD EU FR SUBJECT: JAMES MURPHY'S MEETING WITH KEY FRENCH AGRICULTURAL OFFICIALS PARIS 00001294 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: James Murphy, Assistant US Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs, met with high-level French agricultural officials to discuss a number of U.S./EU ag trade issues. Mr. Murphy was accompanied by Embassy staff from FAS and ECON. The French participants were: Francois Riegert, Deputy Chief of Cabinet of Ag Minister Bussereau, Philippe Duclaud, Diplomatic Adviser to Ag Minister and Jean-Marc Bournigal, General Director for Food at the Ministry of Agriculture. The conversation indicated the desire on both sides to resolve these issues on the basis of a rational, science-based approach. The French acknowledged their difficulties taking such an approach against the backdrop of anti-GMO activists, animal welfare activists and a generally mistrustful public. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Poultry AMTs: Mr. Murphy outlined the slow progress this dossier had made since having obtained EFSA's positive assessment, emphasizing the difficulty the US plants would have complying with EU requirements (only one AMT followed by a rinse in potable water). Notwithstanding the fact that few US firms could meet such a standard at this point, he said that the US poultry industry would like to see the new regulation approved. We have been told that the regulation will be approved by September. French officials stressed the need to avoid the perception that sanitary procedures would become more lax as operators were relying on the AMT, rather than employing strict control at every juncture. They also mentioned that environmentalists were concerned about the impact of releasing used AMTs into the environment. ¶3. (SBU) Beef Market Access: Mr. Murphy acknowledged that progress had been made in negotiations with DG Agri for a new, larger TRQ for U.S. hormone-free beef, but that SPS barriers, particularly on AMTs, needed to be removed to achieve a positive outcome. He said that the US industry was about to submit a data package on AMTs to DG SANCO. In return for an improvement in market access for US hormone free beef, the USG would withdraw retaliatory tariffs. French officials underscored their misgivings about estradiol, and also said that the EU would wait to hear from a WTO panel reviewing the US-EC hormone dispute before moving forward. The panel's conclusions are reportedly due April 16. ¶4. (SBU) EU Enlargement: Romania had been a $50 million pork import market, with an applied duty of zero. Under Article 28, no compensation was due, since under EC accession; its bound duty would go down. Mr. Murphy stated that the U.S. is requesting changes in TRQ administration to remove barriers to trade. Since the EC has refused to negotiate seriously, the USG has just sent a retaliation list to the Federal Register for the purpose of getting the EC to the table. Mr. Murphy also cited the trichina testing issue, stating that DG SANCO is reviewing USDA procedures. It was acknowledged that some MSs (e.g. France, Germany, Denmark) support the U.S. position of lowering the trichina testing requirement for low-risk farm operations (like indoor pork production). ¶5. (SBU) Cloning: Mr. Murphy cited the recent FDA finding on the safety of products derived from cloning and said it wasn't too soon to start a dialog with the EU on this. French officials stated that in Europe, this was more an issue of animal welfare and ethics than product safety. The French stated that they are "jumping on the brake" against the animal welfare lobby, but nonetheless had to be attentive to such issues. ¶6. (SBU) Biotech: The French officials stated that biotech is not popular among the French public and that there was a risk of backlash. Notwithstanding, they proudly reported that they had successfully transposed the EC's coexistence directive despite political obstacles. Mr. Murphy stated that the EU and US should undertake discussions about normalizing trade in biotech. He stressed the need to develop approaches for handling our governments' asynchronous approvals process and legacy events i.e. those events no longer offered for commercial sale. The French response was that on biotech, they need to be totally transparent with the public. PARIS 00001294 002.2 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) Meat Inspections: The French officials noted the upcoming FSIS inspection of French foie gras plants, noting how cumbersome it is for such plants to have to meet two governments' often different sets of requirements. Mr. Murphy encouraged further work on this general issue. ¶8. Comment: It was clear that the French regulatory officials are often frustrated by the political minefield that limits their room to maneuver on some of these issues, but generally favor science-based resolutions. End Comment. Stapleton