Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MEXICO2626
2009-09-03 20:03:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Mexico
Cable title:  

ECONOMIA ON REG COOPERATION, 5-MINISTER MTG

Tags:  EAGR ETRD NAFTA TBIO MX 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHME #2626/01 2462003
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 032003Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8125
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 2650
UNCLAS MEXICO 002626 

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

STATE PASS USTR/MURPHY, MELLE, O'CONNOR
NSC FOR RESTREPO/O'REILLY
USDA FOR FFAS/MILLER, FAS FOR OA/MICHENER, STOLL,
- ADAMS; OCRA/HIGGISTON, ZANIN; OSTA/HAMILTON;
- ONA/RIEMENSCHNEIDER, GRUNENFELDER
PASS APHIS FOR SMITH, FSIS FOR ALMANZA, JONES
HHS FOR FDA
COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/DAS/AC/SKIP JONES AND
- ITA/MAC/DAS/WH/WALTER BASTIAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ETRD NAFTA TBIO MX
SUBJECT: ECONOMIA ON REG COOPERATION, 5-MINISTER MTG

REF: MEXICO 2308

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLAS MEXICO 002626

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

STATE PASS USTR/MURPHY, MELLE, O'CONNOR
NSC FOR RESTREPO/O'REILLY
USDA FOR FFAS/MILLER, FAS FOR OA/MICHENER, STOLL,
- ADAMS; OCRA/HIGGISTON, ZANIN; OSTA/HAMILTON;
- ONA/RIEMENSCHNEIDER, GRUNENFELDER
PASS APHIS FOR SMITH, FSIS FOR ALMANZA, JONES
HHS FOR FDA
COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/DAS/AC/SKIP JONES AND
- ITA/MAC/DAS/WH/WALTER BASTIAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ETRD NAFTA TBIO MX
SUBJECT: ECONOMIA ON REG COOPERATION, 5-MINISTER MTG

REF: MEXICO 2308

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Mexico's Secretariat of Economy (SE)
seeks to advance the cause of trilateral regulatory
cooperation and proposes some further steps in the
realm of sanitary-phytosanitary work, to be followed
by non-agricultural issues in coming months. SE seeks
a meeting of the Free Trade Commission on the margins
of the APEC meeting November 11-12. SE also wishes to
schedule a 5-minister conference soon, if possible
this year but no later than February 2010. END
SUMMARY.

--------------
SE'S DESIRED MEETING SCHEDULE
--------------


2. (SBU) SE Under Secretary for International
Trade Negotiations Beatriz Leycegui advised
emboffs September 1 that

- SE seeks a pre-meeting on September 22 in
Washington to prepare for a subsequent meeting of
the Free Trade Commission;

- SE hopes a Free Trade Commission meeting can be
scheduled around the APEC meeting November 11-12
to take advantage of the presence of the relevant
principals;

- SE recognizes that Commerce Secretary Locke
wishes for Secretary of Economy Ruiz Mateos to
attend the 2009 Americas Competitiveness Forum in
Chile September 28-29, but regrets Ruiz Mateos
cannot. SE would like a bilateral meeting
between Secretaries Locke and Ruiz Mateos in
either WashDC or Mexico City at both sides'
earliest convenience.

- SE regrets it cannot be represented at a high
level at the Detroit NAFTA meeting at which
Commerce Secretary Locke will speak (September
9/10),but that date conflicts with the Free
Trade Commission meeting in WashDC.

- Please see para 11, below, on SE's desire for a
5-minister meeting.

--------------
REGULATORY COOPERATION
--------------


3. (SBU) Juan Antonio Dorantes, Director General
for Foreign Trade Analysis, said he has been in
touch with USTR on the issue of a regulatory
cooperation framework. He explained that

following the North American Leaders Summit in
Guadalajara, SE's leadership recommended not
changing the memorandum of understanding of the
Consultative Committee on Agriculture (CCA) to
accommodate regulatory cooperation, but rather to
fold regulatory cooperation into the Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP). The logic, he said,
is that SPP is trilateral while the CCA is only
bilateral, and regulatory cooperation should
encompass all three North American countries.


4. (SBU) Leycegui added that the Secretariat of
Agriculture (SAGARPA) may also not wish to amend
the CCA MOU, but may instead aim for procedural
changes (NOTE: AgMinCouns will consult with
SAGARPA this week. END NOTE).


5. (SBU) Dorantes continued that the North
American Leaders Summit cited the regulatory
cooperation framework and mandated continuing
efforts with timeframes. He said Mexico is
compiling a list of 11 initiatives, ranging from
the Asian gypsy moth to chemical harmonization,
which list it will prioritize and winnow with
input from its private sector. He said Mexico
hopes for a memorandum of understanding on
regulatory cooperation to "strengthen
cooperation" but with an additional objective of
linking cooperation to the Free Trade Commission
and the NAFTA Committee on Regulations and
Standards.


6. (SBU) Dorantes acknowledged U.S. concern about
the prospect of potential mandatory standards and
Canada's concern about that country's need for
Parliamentary approval, but said Mexico plans to
move forward with a draft workplan. After that,
Mexico will seek to create a mechanism for
consulting with the private sector, a la the U.S.
practice, and to seek public comment. Dorantes
explicitly acknowledged USTR's reservations about
placing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues
in the same collaborative framework with
technical barriers to trade (TBT).


7. (SBU) Leycegui noted that the Mexican
veterinary and phytosanitary service (SENASICA)
is working on definitions of standards that
should be harmonized, as well as common
procedures, audits, and handling of disease
outbreaks. SENASICA, she said, has identified 2
or 3 proposals with which it wishes to start.
She said it is not clear whether SENASICA will
seek an MOU or be content with a workplan, but
added that the Mexican presidential
administration "wants more formality". She said
SE understands U.S. resistance to higher levels
of formality. Dorantes said that from the
Mexican perspective the best scenario is the
trilateral MOU presented to USTR in July (REFTEL).


8. (SBU) Leycegui opined that a first step might
be to reproduce the almost-finished meat
inspection protocol negotiated by SENASICA and
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service in the
poultry sector. She said she had discussed this
with Sergio Chavez, head of the Mexican National
Poultry Union, and said he is receptive. She
suggested that "substantial progress" could be
made by SENASICA and FSIS before the National
Poultry Union's annual congress in November, if
that union and its U.S. counterpart, the USA
Poultry and Egg Export Council, are equally
supportive.


9. (SBU) Leycegui added that Mexico is trying to
put together a formal mechanism for private-
sector input into this process, which will
include NGOs as well as private industry.


10. (SBU) In response to a question from emboff,
Leycegui noted that non-agricultural regulatory
cooperation is also very much on SE's mind, for
example in telecommunications standards. However,
she said, we need a plan, and to define who the
competent authorities will be. SE is preparing a
list but it has not yet been cleared internally,
let alone vetted by the private sector interests,
but she foresees this list coming forth in a few
months as a proposed annex to the draft MOU on
regulatory cooperation.

--------------
FIVE-MINISTERS MEETING
--------------


11. (SBU) Leycegui expressed Mexico's desire to
convoke a meeting of the "five ministers"
(Commerce Secretary Locke and USTR Kirk from the
U.S., Ministers Clements and Stockwell-Day from
Canada, and Ruiz Mateos from Mexico) to discuss
competitiveness. She betrayed some frustration
that no such meeting appears possible in calendar
2009, but expressed hope that such a meeting
could be scheduled for January or February. This
meeting, she noted, should include private sector
input and Mexico is considering what NGOs
(industry associations, consumer groups, etc.)
might best be included.

--------------
CCA FOLLOWUP
--------------


12. (SBU) Leycegui acknowledged receipt of AUSTR
Murphy's letter on pistachios and said SE is
preparing a cover letter to transmit it to the
Secretariat of Finance (which oversees Customs).


13. (SBU) On sugar, Leycegui said the new
regulations requiring licenses to export sugar
have been published so that matter is now closed.


14. (SBU) On dairy products, Leycegui said we
need to "push the agenda" and put together the
working group proposed at the CCA.

--------------
COMMENT:
--------------


15. (SBU) Taking its cue from the Guadalajara
summit, Mexico has begun to prepare itself to
take a first stab at a trilateral proposal on
both agricultural and non-agricultural regulatory
cooperation. The GOM proposes that this
cooperation would begin in a few agricultural
sectors, and is also preparing a list of non-ag
sectors including telecoms as a basis for
discussion. Mexican officials are under no
illusions about the bureaucratic hurdles in
Washington. They hope to clarify their intentions
over the next months. However, they are also
keenly aware that a mechanism that could
potentially ease trade barriers could find
private sector support on both sides of the
border, and continue the leaders' summit tasking.


16. (SBU) In side conversations the Mexicans have
pointed out that once you have low tariffs, SPS
and TBT issues come next. They are proceeding
carefully, looking for practical solutions and
low hanging fruit, and avoiding dogma in how to
move forward. The Mexicans are also clearly
aware that this long-term solution could be a
palliative for a number of perennial trade
irritants. While we and they recognize it would
be bound to be a challenging and complex process,
it would clearly be the kind of approach ("a more
competitive North America") that political
leaders in both countries are likely to
appreciate.
PASCUAL