US embassy cable - 05MADRID1922

UNCLAS MADRID 001922 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS IO/T (JCROWLEY) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, SCUL, SP, UNESCO 
SUBJECT: CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION DEMARCHE 
 
REF: STATE 089776 
 
1. Summary: Spain supports the philosophy underpinning the 
Cultural Diversity Convention, and there is a political 
desire on the part of the GOS for the international community 
to adopt the Convention.  There does not appear much 
willingness on the part of the GOS to revisit the Chair's 
proposal for Article 20.  Spain, France, and Brazil are 
sponsoring a Madrid June 12-13 Ministerial-level conference 
on the Convention.  End Summary 
 
2. Per reftel, Trade Policy Officer spoke on 5/18/05 with 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Subdirector General for Programs 
and Cultural and Scientific Conventions Anunciada Fernandez 
de Cordova y Alonso-Viguera and with Trade Ministry 
Subdirector General for Services Jose Alberto Plaza Tejera. 
On 5/19/05, Trade Policy Officer spoke with Culture Ministry 
Director General for Cooperation and Cultural Communication 
Carlos Alberdi Alonso re: the Convention. 
 
3. Fernandez de Cordova from MFA conceded that the Chair's 
draft for Article 20 was "vague and diffuse", but kept 
insisting that the Convention was not a trade agreement.  She 
said it was a cultural agreement.  She said this formulation 
was acceptable to the EU's 25 members, and suggested that 
this difficult to achieve EU consensus position would make it 
difficult to modify further Article 20.  She underscored that 
there was a "political" desire on the part of the GOS to move 
the Convention forward.  The GOS is partly motivated by 
domestic political considerations in that Spain's Autonomous 
Regions (the equivalent of American states) are very 
interested in cultural diversity issues. 
 
4. Alberto Plaza Tejera from the Trade Ministry recognized 
that the Convention had potentially deleterious trade 
implications.  He noted, for instance, that Spain's telecoms 
industry was concerned (Spain's Telefonica has large 
investments in Latin America) about what countries might be 
able to justify in this sector citing the Convention.  He 
noted, however, the GOS desire to proceed with the 
Convention.  He claimed that the Chair's Article 20 draft was 
the best officials interested in trade matters were able to 
get.  Tejera asked how adoption of the Convention in its 
present form might have a chilling effect on the Doha 
services talks. 
 
5. Alberdi Alonso from Culture was, unlike his MFA colleague, 
quite upfront about the fact that the Convention is a trade 
treaty in the form of a Cultural Convention.  He conceded 
that representatives from the movie, music, and book 
industries were interested in an international trade regime 
that recognized that the cultural component of these 
products/services merited special consideration.  He argued 
that the Convention as currently drafted was "balanced", and 
that it would not be used for illegitimate protectionist 
ends.  Underscoring the GOS commitment to the Convention is 
the fact that Spain, together with France and Brazil, are 
convoking a Ministerial-level meeting on this topic in Madrid 
on June 12-13.  Alberdi was not sure how many Ministers would 
attend, but he claimed that, so far, 20 Ministers and 
Secretaries of State have confirmed their attendance. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
6. Spain is clearly comfortable with the Convention as 
currently drafted and is not likely to be helpful in amending 
Article 20 to make it acceptable to the United States.  As a 
general matter, positing that this Convention could have 
deleterious trade effects is not an argument that has much 
resonance, even with trade policy oriented officials.  Tejera 
was clearly not convinced adoption of this Convention would 
affect the Doha services talks in an important way.  If the 
USG were willing/able to explain in detail how adoption of 
this Convention would undercut the Doha services talks, we 
might get more traction with this argument. 
 
NEALON