US embassy cable - 04LILONGWE103

C O N F I D E N T I A L LILONGWE 000103 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2014 
TAGS: ETRD, MI, WTRO 
SUBJECT: GOM REACTS TO USTR LETTER WITH TEMPERED ENTHUSIASM 
 
REF: STATE 6662 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Officer Marc Dillard for reasons 1.5 b/d. 
 
1.  (C) Minister of Commerce and Industry Sam Mpasu told the 
Ambassador during a January 27 meeting that he had been 
"bowled over" by reftel letter from USTR Zoellick and that he 
was "very excited" by its prospects.  Before the letter, he 
stated, "We had developed a perception that the developed 
countries did not want us to have a significant slice of 
world trade... We left Cancun thinking there was no hope." 
 
2.  (C)  Describing Cancun, Mpasu stated that he had found 
Pascal Lamy's negotiating posture "arrogant."  He expressed 
the hope that the EU would "take a cue" from the U.S., adding 
that the GOM would like to see major breakthroughs in WTO 
negotiations before Hong Kong. 
 
3.  (C) Mpasu somewhat identified Malawi with the G-20 group, 
stating that "we" have "a funny set-up, not a permanent 
coalition," and he distanced Malawi from some of the group's 
thinking, particularly on sugar.  On the Singapore issues, he 
rhetorically asked why developing countries should talk about 
them when their concern is agriculture, and he pointedly 
stated that, given its direction, "we were better off with a 
failed Cancun." 
 
4.  (C) Comment: Mpasu was enthusiastic about another chance 
for the WTO, but he has an economic nationalist streak and is 
not yet a convert to U.S. thinking.  He will assess any new 
WTO negotiations by what they offer in terms of reduced 
developed-world agricultural subsidies, reduced non-tariff 
barriers for agricultural goods, and technical assistance 
offered to least-developed countries. 
 
BROWNING