US embassy cable - 04TELAVIV1464

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 001464 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/IPA, EB 
DEPT PASS TO USTR CNOVELLI AND ESAUMS 
USDOC FOR 500/KJUSTER/AKUNTAMUKKALA 
USDOC FOR 4520/CLOUSTANAU/TSAMS/NWEIGLER 
USDOC FOR 3131/BORR/GLITMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2014 
TAGS: ETRD, BEXP, ECON, IS, ECONOMY AND FINANCE, U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONS 
SUBJECT: USING THE JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE TO PROMOTE OUR 
TRADE AGENDA WITH ISRAEL 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, Reasons: 1.4(B) and (D) 
 
From Ambassador Kurtzer to Assistant U.S. Trade 
Representative Cathy Novelli. 
 
 
1. (C) I encourage Washington to convene a meeting of the 
Joint Economic Committee (JEC) as soon as possible.  Our 
combined efforts to focus Israel on our trade and investment 
concerns are beginning to pay dividends.  A new agricultural 
agreement that will increase access to U.S. agricultural 
products is a concrete result.  The GOI may also finally 
recognize that it cannot avoid tackling the contentious issue 
of pharmaceutical data protection.  Recent visits by Under 
Secretaries of State, Commerce and Treasury all drove home 
 
SIPDIS 
the importance of dealing with the trade deficit and taking 
action on IPR, procurement practices, and the use of 
technical standards as non-tariff barriers.  The GOI is 
getting the message, not only from the USG here and in 
Washington, but also from the U.S. private sector via the 
AmCham's forum of U.S. companies in Israel and its four 
subcommittees which are pressing on all these issues.  I will 
be meeting Minister of Industry and Trade Olmert next week, 
at his request, to consider ways to solve some of these 
problems. 
 
2. (C) A JEC meeting would allow us to capitalize on this 
momentum, perhaps bring to closure some issues where we've 
begun to see movement, and to further press on longstanding 
concerns that the GOI has failed to adequately address. 
Issues that need to be discussed include: 
 
--An Israeli technical standards regime that often favors 
European firms over American suppliers; 
 
--Lack of transparency and poor procedures in government and 
para-statal procurement that make it very difficult for U.S. 
firms to have a fair shot at contracts; 
 
--Israel's failure to clarify how it intends to deal with the 
data protection issue; and 
 
--The GOI's apparent intention to deny national treatment to 
U.S. recording companies under its new copyright law.  This 
could easily erupt into a serious bilateral dispute. 
 
3. (C) The GOI hopes to get something in return for any 
improvements it offers.  The GOI fears that our new FTAs with 
other trading partners will mean their exports will face 
intensified competition in the U.S. market.  In an effort to 
strengthen its position vis--vis our new FTA partners, 
Israel would like to latch onto these agreements through 
favorable rules-of-origin treatment.  We expect the GOI to 
broach this issue whenever we raise our trade concerns.  A 
JEC meeting now will allow us to frame the parameters of the 
discussion, and keep us on the offensive. 
 
4. (C) Identical, coordinated messages from both Washington 
and Embassy have been key to getting the GOI to understand 
the seriousness of USG concerns.  The JEC will allow us to 
reinforce the message that Washington and Tel Aviv are 
speaking with one unified voice on trade matters, and will 
strengthen the value of all USG messages on trade, whether 
delivered in Washington or in Israel. 
 
5. (C) The last meeting of the JEC took place in 2001.  Our 
trade agenda is now sufficiently full, and thus the time is 
now ripe to proceed with one of the most important JECs in 
recent memory.  We look forward to continuing the productive 
cooperation that has brought us this far, and we stand ready 
to assist in the preparation of a JEC meeting on short notice. 
 
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Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
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KURTZER