US embassy cable - 05MADRID568

UNCLAS MADRID 000568 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE FOR FAS/ITP 
BRUSSELS FOR USFAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, SP, USTR, Trade Issues 
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH SPAIN'S MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE ELENA 
ESPINOSA 
 
REF: A. STATE 019814 
     B. STATE 020469 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
1.  Robert Manzanares, Charge d'Affaires; Stephen Hammond, 
Agriculture Counselor, and Carl Schonander, Economic Officer, 
met on February 10 with Spain's Minister of Agriculture Elena 
Espinosa; Secretary General for Agriculture and Food, 
Fernando Moraleda, and Director General for Agriculture Angel 
Luis Alvarez to discuss State 020468 and 019814. 
 
Rice Negotiations (Ref. A) 
-------------------------- 
 
2.  Spain's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) not only does not 
support the U.S. position for inclusion of a negotiated 
agreement on U.S. access to the European rice market into the 
head note, they do not support the current state of 
negotiations between U.S. and European Commission (EC) 
negotiators.  Their position is simply that they will not 
support any reduction of the current bound tariff rates for 
rice. 
 
3.  That being said, MOA officials are very concerned about 
the implications of concession withdrawal.  They ask why 
Spain had been so heavily targeted; noting that over 70 
percent of concession withdrawal was targeted at them.  They 
have calculated the potential negative impact on their 
exports and spoke specifically to the negative effect this 
would be on the clementine industry, just recovering its 
export market in the United States. 
 
4.  From the tone set when we broached the subject of rice, 
we believe that MOA officials will be working to protect 
their rice producers until the final moment a decision has to 
be taken by the U.S. and European negotiators. 
 
Wood Packaging (Ref. B) 
----------------------- 
 
5.  The Spanish Minister of Agriculture said that Spain would 
support the European Commission's suggested delayed 
implementation of directive 2004/102/EC for one year in the 
upcoming February 28, Agriculture Council meeting.  Her 
second in command clarified that this would be a reversal of 
the position they had taken in the last phytosanitary meeting 
regarding wood packaging, but this reversal is only to allow 
the United States and other concerned countries time to 
adjust operations to the requirements in directive 
2004/102/EC.  He said that Spain did not agree with the U.S. 
assessment of the EC's wood packaging directive, but did 
agree that we needed the additional adjustment period. 
 
MANZANARES