Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DUBLIN362
2008-06-17 15:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dublin
Cable title:  

IRISH AGRICULTURE, THE DOHA ROUND, AND BIOTECH

Tags:  ETRD EAGR ECON EU EI 
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PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHDL #0362/01 1691558
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 171558Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY DUBLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9269
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES PRIORITY
RUEHBL/AMCONSUL BELFAST PRIORITY 0769
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000362 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR USTR
USDA FOR FAS - OCRA
LONDON FOR FAS/MCSHERRY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2018
TAGS: ETRD EAGR ECON EU EI
SUBJECT: IRISH AGRICULTURE, THE DOHA ROUND, AND BIOTECH

REF: A. DUBLIN 356


B. STATE 53346

C. STATE 52628

D. 07 DUBLIN 862 AND PREVIOUS

DUBLIN 00000362 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: PEO Chief Ted Pierce. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000362

SIPDIS

STATE FOR USTR
USDA FOR FAS - OCRA
LONDON FOR FAS/MCSHERRY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2018
TAGS: ETRD EAGR ECON EU EI
SUBJECT: IRISH AGRICULTURE, THE DOHA ROUND, AND BIOTECH

REF: A. DUBLIN 356


B. STATE 53346

C. STATE 52628

D. 07 DUBLIN 862 AND PREVIOUS

DUBLIN 00000362 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: PEO Chief Ted Pierce. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (C) Summary: Econoffs spoke recently with senior Irish
trade and agriculture officials regarding the points in Refs
B and C. While they agreed that a WTO deal is even more
important now with recent food price concerns, both were
concerned about the prospect of an imminent conclusion to the
Doha Round. They cited worries over the effect the U.S. farm
bill will have on U.S. commitments on agriculture. On
biotech, Ireland will continue to allow the importation of
genetically modified organisms (GMO) -- principally animal
feed -- but would prohibit the growing of such products on
its territory. Ireland will continue to abstain on EU votes
dealing with the approval of GMOs but is working behind the
scenes to try to shorten the time between regulatory approval
in the U.S. and the EU. They highlighted the work of the
Irish government's Hunger Task Force, noting that it fits in
nicely with President Bush's initiative to combat rising food
prices. Given the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty (Ref
A),the government may have a more difficult time working
behind the scenes to affect policy in Brussels. End Summary.


Doha
--------------


2. (C) Econoffs spoke with Gerard Monks, the Irish lead on
WTO issues at the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and
Employment, and Aidan O'Driscoll, Assistant Secretary in the
Department of Agriculture, about the topics contained in Refs
A and B. Monks said that Ireland wants to conclude a WTO
deal but must take into account its own domestic farm lobby.
As well, the Irish are worried that this year's U.S. farm
bill will be a stumbling block in finalizing a Doha deal.
O'Driscoll said many in Europe are skeptical that the U.S.
can deliver on the commitments that it has made. He echoed
Monks' worry that the U.S. farm bill will "muddy the waters,"
and added that it appears that the U.S. seems more committed

to moving forward on bilateral deals (he mentioned Colombia
and South Korea). (Comment: Neither said it, but we were
left with the impression that they were doubtful that the
U.S. administration would press to amend the farm bill if the
Doha negotiations resulted in a deal. End Comment.)


3. (C) Monks indicated that his job of delivering a unified
Irish voice on Doha was made tougher with the recent changes
in the Irish government. His new minister is Mary Coughlan,
who was previously Minister of Agriculture. Given her
vigorous defense of Irish agriculture prerogatives in her
previous post, Coughlan could not now come out and easily
push for a WTO deal. Because of the lack of political cover
from the top, Monks has been trying to build a coalition of
WTO supporters to counteract the powerful, anti-WTO farm
lobby but to little or no avail. He has approached the Irish
Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC),the leading
business association in Ireland, but its members are split on
the desirability of a WTO deal, so they are hesitant to go
public with support.

GMOs
--------------


4. (C) O'Driscoll said the EU is trying to manage the biotech
issue, not create a problem. He wondered whether the U.S.
understands the complexity of the issue for Ireland and other
EU Member States (Ref D). As far as he is concerned the
question of Ireland's domestic stance on GMOs has been
settled: Ireland will allow the import of GMOs, specifically
feed, but will not produce them domestically. He said that
this is a sensible political solution given that Irish
farmers do not produce much grain but are quite reliant on
beef exports, which depend heavily on GM feedstocks imported
from the U.S.


5. (C) O'Driscoll said that the Irish government will
continue to abstain on GM-related votes in the EU but are
working behind the scenes to address the issue of
"asynchronicity" -- code for the often significant gap
between the approval of GMOs in the U.S. and the EU. He said
Ireland would be well-served to shorten this gap and have
managed to garner support from other European countries in
similar situations. He thought that the U.S. should focus
more on solving this problem than lobbying the Irish and

DUBLIN 00000362 002.2 OF 002


others to change their voting behavior in the EU.


6. (C) Responding to the President's food aid initiative,
O'Driscoll highlighted the work of the Hunger Task Force, run
out of Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs. The
Hunger Task Force is chaired by Joe Walsh, former Irish
Minister for Agriculture and its members include Jeffery
Sachs, Bono, and Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the
World Food Program. The goal of the task force is to
identify how Ireland can best contribute to the achievement
of the UN's Millennium Development goals. He said that the
government will hold a public event in July to highlight the
issuance of its final report. O'Driscoll expects that Sachs
and Bono will participate.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Ireland is a bit player on Doha, but Monks' and
O'Driscoll's comments about broader EU unease with the U.S.'s
ability to reach a deal is noteworthy. With a Green Party
Environment Minister and junior Minister for Food, the Irish
government has gone about as far as it can go (at least
publicly) on GMOs. That said, Irish officials are quite
adept at working behind the scenes to push practical policy
solutions through the system in Brussels. However,
O'Driscoll told us that his, and Ireland's, stature in
Brussels will likely be reduced somewhat as a result of the
Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. It remains to be seen
if this affects Ireland's ability to bring other Member
States on board to resolve the "asynchronicity" issue.
FOLEY