US embassy cable - 03THEHAGUE2335

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002335 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 4212/USFCS/MAC/EUR/OWE/DDEFALCO 
USDOC FOR 3133/USFCS/OIO/OWE/ESLETTEN/PBUCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, NL, WTRO, EUN 
SUBJECT: WTO MINISTERIAL: DUTCH DISAPPOINTED AND DISMAYED BY 
CANCUN BREAKDOWN 
 
 
1. Summary and Comment:  The immediate official Dutch 
reaction to the breakdown of the WTO Ministerial in Cancun 
is similar to the USG's with ministers decrying developing 
country and NGO tactics.  The Netherlands sees talks 
resuming only after the negotiating climate improves but 
think it will take another ministerial to get substantive 
talks moving again; the earliest possible date for a follow 
on ministerial, they believe, would be July 2004.  Ever the 
strategist, Economics Minister Brinkhorst apparently began 
to sketch out thoughts on restarting negotiations while on 
the plane home.  Dutch officials are eager for any USG 
thoughts on next steps.   Meanwhile, the Dutch press seems 
ready to blame developed countries for Cancun's failure. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  Following the abrupt termination of the WTO Ministerial 
in Cancun, Economics Minister Brinkhorst and Trade Minister 
van Gennip expressed to the Dutch press their dismay at the 
turn of events.  Brinkhorst was bluntly critical of the G- 
21 calling its members - especially India and Brazil -- a 
"destructive force" and accusing former European colonies of 
following after the G-21 like "lemmings" with no regard for 
their own interests.  G-21 statements, Brinkhorst claimed, 
were more centered in geopolitics that trade; van Gennip 
noted the bizarre Cancun negotiating atmosphere more akin, 
she thought, to a soccer match than a serious negotiation 
with the developing countries breaking out in cheers 
whenever one of their number criticized the United States or 
EU. 
 
3.  Brinkhorst had particular scorn for NGO's whom he 
accused of being more interested in profiling themselves 
than in promoting the true interests of the poor.  Both 
ministers were critical of WTO DG Supachai who in his 
chairmanship of the cotton working group "let himself be 
dictated to by the United States." (Note: A Dutch trade 
official explained that Supachai's "quickly" replacing his 
paragraph on cotton with a U.S. drafted one contributed to 
the breakdown in the negotiating climate.  However, this 
official hastened to add that even if cotton issues had been 
quickly agreed, the conference would have broken down over 
something else.  End note).  They also had mixed feelings 
about conference chair Derbez "who decided to terminate the 
conference while the EU was still conferring."    Van Gennip 
accused the EU of poor internal communications, and 
Brinkhorst declared that the WTO has become "an old- 
fashioned organization," a fact partly attributable to its 
location in Switzerland, "a country where the cuckoo clock 
is the latest invention.  It isn't Brussels or New York." 
Brinkhorst was pessimistic about a rapid resumption of the 
negotiations noting that a climate must first be created in 
which the talks can be resumed. 
 
4.   A senior Dutch trade official told us Cancun 
essentially was a power struggle between the EU/US on the 
one hand and the developing countries, led by Brazil and 
India on the other. The latter wanted to show that the WTO's 
agenda is no longer controlled by the rich developed 
countries. They succeeded, this official stated, but at the 
price of a failed Ministerial Conference. "The real 
negotiations," he said, "simply started too late." 
Hopefully, once they have sobered up, this official 
declared, the G21 will realize that just saying no to 
whatever is proposed by the other side does not deliver the 
results one is striving for. 
5.  Our contact thought that a future ministerial will be 
needed to put the negotiations back on track again as the 
"string of unmet deadlines after Doha clearly demonstrated 
that civil servants in Geneva, acting on instructions from 
capitals, are simply incapable of striking deals on matters 
which are politically sensitive."   The Dutch foresee no 
possibility for another ministerial before July 2004 but 
hope that another can take place before early 2005.  Meeting 
the 1 January 2005 deadline for finishing the round, the 
Dutch believe, now seems impossible, not only because of the 
need to build confidence after Cancun but also because of 
the U.S. elections and the appointment of a new European 
Commission after the elections for the European Parliament. 
The Netherlands would be very interested in known the USG's 
thoughts regarding next steps. 
5.    The  Dutch  media  has  initially  decided  to  assign 
developed  countries the responsibility for the  failure  at 
Cancun   however.   The  NRC  HANDELSBLAD  (an   influential 
Rotterdam-based evening daily) editorialized that there  are 
three  lessons from Cancun: "Firstly, the EU  and  the  U.S. 
need   to   cut  their  agricultural  subsidies  much   more 
drastically.  Secondly,  the  upcoming  countries  -  India, 
China,  Brazil  -  cannot  be ignored.  Thirdly,  the  WTO's 
structure  needs to be changed drastically. It is impossible 
for  146  countries  to reach unanimity on  every  technical 
detail.  Daring  initiatives are required,  and  soon."   DE 
VOLKSKRANT  (an influential slightly left of  center  daily) 
took  a different but still critical tack writing that: "The 
American  delegation in Cancun once again  showed  that  the 
Bush   government  has  little  affection  for  multilateral 
agreements.  Time and again the U.S. shows that  it  prefers 
bilateral agreements with (developing) countries,  tuned  in 
to  American  interests.  Five  years  ago,  the  U.S.  thus 
frustrated  the trade talks in Seattle. This  time  however, 
the developing countries managed to form one block." 
Sobel