USDOC DYCK VISIT TO SLOVENIA FOCUSED ON TEC AND BILATERAL

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000189 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/NCE VIENNA FOR CQUINLIVAN USDOC FOR 3133/ITA/USFCS/OIO/EUR USDOC FOR 4200/ITA/MAC DAS for Europe USDOC FOR 4211/ITA/MAC OEURA USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC OCEE SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD PREL PGOV EUN SI SUBJECT: USDOC DYCK VISIT TO SLOVENIA FOCUSED ON TEC AND BILATERAL TRADE Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) Deputy Assistant Secretary Paul Dyck's early April meetings with senior officials SIPDIS from the Slovene government centered on the importance of moving the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) forward and stressed the value of increasing bilateral trade and investment between the U.S. and Slovenia. Dyck commended the Slovenes for a smooth EU Presidency and urged the Slovenes to take this opportunity at the helm to unify EU member states on identifying economic deliverables for the TEC meeting May 13 in Brussels and the proposed U.S.-EU summit in June. The Slovenes agreed that political will is needed to move issues such as TEC and climate change forward. The Economic Ministry's (MOE) State Secretary Tomaz Jersic also agreed that Slovenia should look for more opportunities to develop economic ties with the U.S. End Summary. Strong Transatlantic Relationship is Essential -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) On April 2, Slovene Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) State Secretary Matjaz Sinkovec opened the meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary Paul Dyck from the U.S. DOC's International Trade Administration by saying that "the transatlantic relationship is the most important for Europe." He noted that Slovenia is a small market but that he believed that now is a good time for successful Slovenian investors to look for opportunities in the U.S. He suggested that third generation biofuels might present a good opportunity for Slovenia to cooperate with the U.S. Sinkovec and the other Slovene interlocutors supported Emboff's suggestion that Slovenia open a trade office in the U.S. Dyck also suggested that the DOC would be happy to help Slovenia in setting one up. Dyck pointed out that Slovenia is the U.S.'s one hundred and fourth (104) largest trading partner, which leaves room for improvement. (Note. In response to Embassy urging that Slovenia should establish a trade office in the U.S., Peter Jesovnik, Director of the Slovene Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investment (JAPTI),told Emboff that the GOS is planning to set up a trade office in the U.S. in the next year or two. The GOS is still trying to determine a strategic location for the office. End Note.) GOS Says Slovene Presidency a Success -------------- ¶3. (U) Deputy Head of the Government Office for European Affairs Gregor Krajc focused largely on the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) and the resolution of the phytosanitary dispute regarding processing of poultry. Dyck pointed out that this issue, while small, represents a test case for the U.S. in terms of the TEC's ability to resolve issues. Krajc said that progress is being made and a risk assessment survey was filed with the European Commission but that the issue would probably not be resolved by the upcoming TEC meeting in May. He cited the U.S.-EU summit as the most important summit of Slovenia's Presidency and hoped that both sides would be able to identify and agree upon some strong deliverables. Dyck said that the U.S. viewed Slovenia's Presidency of the EU as a success and hoped that progress would be made on concrete issues such as poultry and standards before the summit. Climate and Energy Package Needs Political Will -------------- -- ¶4. (U) Krajc ran through a number of priority issues that will extend beyond the Slovene into the French Presidency. He said the European Council has adopted the Lisbon Agenda and has discussed the "fifth liberty" - knowledge. He said a goal that Slovenia will need to push to the French presidency is political commitment on climate and energy. He added that he expects compromise by the end of the year and talked about "unbundling" these issues. Ministry of Economy Outlines Priorities -------------- ¶5. (U) Jersic discussed the EU position on TEC and then shared some of economic projects under development in Slovenia. He realized that Slovenia, on its own, is not a large market and faces challenges in attracting large investments. Jersic mentioned a common Slovenian refrain -- that Slovenia offers good advantages for companies wanting to serve the Southeastern Europe markets. Jersic also mentioned opportunities related to his meetings with executives from General Electric and Starwood Hotels Comment -------------- ¶6. (U) Slovenes heard Dyck's message that it should use its role as the EU Presidency to rally other member states around the TEC. Post was very pleased with the large MOE delegation that turned out for the meeting with Dyck and the awareness that the MOE showed on details regarding U.S.-EU trade issues. In the past, post has had difficulty engaging the MOE and in encouraging the MOE to take note of Slovenia's role in the global market. The import of TEC and climate change issues seems to have roused the MOE from its indifference and forced it, as the president of the European Council, to take international economic issues seriously. Post has experienced an increase in cooperation from the MOE and plans to work to continue and expand this relationship past Slovenia's presidency. End Comment. ¶7. (U) Senior Foreign Commercial Service Officer Christopher Quinlivan cleared on this cable. COLEMAN