GERMANY EXPRESSES TEPID SUPPORT FOR GEOGRAPHICAL

UNCLAS BERLIN 001333 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE PASS USTR FOR TANUJA GARDE AND DAWN SHACKLEFORD FAS/OCRA/NENON; FAS/OSTA/RMACKE FAS/OFSO/DYOUNG; FAS/ONA/ABURST E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD EUN KIPR SUBJECT: GERMANY EXPRESSES TEPID SUPPORT FOR GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS REGISTRY REF: STATE 104985 ¶1. (SBU) Post delivered reftel demarche to representatives of Germany's Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Foreign Office. ¶2. (SBU) The head of the AgMin's International Trade Policy Division, Klaus Kehrein, told FAS that extending Geographical Indications (GI) protection to wines and spirits under the TRIPS Agreement is not a priority for Germany. Kehrein said that Germany does support GIs specifically for wine, but he candidly stated that extending GI protection to other products and creating a legally binding registry is mainly being pushed by southern EU Mediterranean countries (i.e., Italy, Spain, Portugal and France). Kehrein further stated that, since Germany is an EU member, it will likely support the European Commission's proposal out of solidarity. ¶3. (SBU) Christina Decker of the External Economic Policy Section in the Econ Ministry said that it is no secret that Germany is not a strong supporter of extending Geographical Indications (GI) protection. Decker stated that the Econ Ministry understands the U.S. concerns with extending GIs, but this is an issue that is very important for some EU member countries (i.e., the countries mentioned above),and ultimately all EU member countries have to agree on a common position in trade matters. Decker also acknowledged that giving more leeway to developing countries, such as Brazil and India, on patent protection is not in the interest of German industry, but this was purely a political move to gain their support for the GIs proposal. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Germany could become a potential U.S. ally within the EU on this issue. It is unclear, however, whether Germany is willing to invest political capital. Embassy has scheduled several meetings at a more senior level to encourage support from Germany and will report evolution of German views. End Comment. MURPHY