ESTONIA TO SUPPORT EU COMPLIANCE WITH WTO BIOTECH

C O N F I D E N T I A L TALLINN 000739 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y //REMOVE RUEHRC AND ADD PASS LINE// SIPDIS NOFORN DEPT PASS TO DEPT OF AGRICULTURE DEPT FOR EUR/NB KATHERINE GARRY, EUR/ERA - SHAWN GRAY, EEB/TPP/ABT/BTT JACK BOBO STATE PASS USTR MELISSA CLARKSON, AND USDA/FAS ELIZABETH JONES WARSAW FOR FAS KATE SNIPES E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2017 TAGS: EAGR ETRD EUN WTO EN SUBJECT: ESTONIA TO SUPPORT EU COMPLIANCE WITH WTO BIOTECH RULING REF: SECSTATE 153542 Classified By: DCM Karen Decker for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). ¶1. (SBU) Estonia will support EU compliance with the WTO ruling outlined in reftel by the November 21 deadline for a Reasonable Period of Time (RPT). According to Allan Gromov, Deputy Under Secretary of the Ministry of Environment (MOE), Estonia voted against the ban on these corn varieties initiated by Austria at the last committee meeting. Gromov told us that, as there was no qualified majority, the EU Commission will take a position in favor of these corn varieties as demanded by the WTO. The decision will be made very soon to meet the RPT deadline in order to avoid U.S. sanctions. ¶2. (C) Comment: The Government of Estonia (GOE) has a reputation for objective, science-based decisions on biotech issues. This particular issue of compliance with the WTO ruling revealed rifts within the GOE and the Ministry of Environment itself. However, in the end the GOE,s commitment to rules-based decisions won out. The MOE initially planned to oppose compliance with the WTO ruling within the RPT deadline. However, it changed its position after the MFA weighed in, arguing for a position in support of compliance with WTO rules. End Comment. PHILLIPS