US embassy cable - 05GENEVA1505

UNCLAS GENEVA 001505 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, WTO 
SUBJECT: INFORMAL MEETINGS OF THE WTO GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT COMMITTE 
DURING THE WEEK OF MAY 30, 2005 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:  DURING THE WEEK OF MAY 30, 2005, THE 
U.S. DELEGATION, LED BY JEAN HEILMAN GRIER, SENIOR PROCUREMENT 
NEGOTIATOR, USTR, AND INCLUDING STEPHEN KHO, U.S. MISSION TO THE WTO, 
AND JOHN LIUZZI, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, PARTICIPATED IN INFORMAL 
MEETINGS OF THE WTO GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT COMMITTEE (COMMITTEE).  TH 
COMMITTEE MADE SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS ON THE REVISION OF THE 1994 
GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AGREEMENT (GPA) TEXT, SIGNIFICANTLY FACILITATE 
BY A JOINT UNITED STATES-EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES SUBMISSION ON A NUMBER 
OF PROVISIONS, AND A JOINT US-CANADA-JAPAN SUBMISSION ON THE DEVEOPIN 
COUNTRIES ARTICLE.  THE COMMITTEE ALSO HELD A SESSION ON HORIZONTAL 
COVERAGE ISSUES, WHICH FOCUSED ON A U.S. SUBMISSION.  THE U.S. MISSIO 
HOSTED A QUAD MEETING ON MAY 31.  THE U.S. DELEGATION ALSO 
PARTICIPATED IN A BILATERAL MEETING WITH THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA 
DELEGATION ON MAY 30.  THE NEXT COMMITTEE MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED FOR 
THE WEEK OF JULY 18.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (SBU) QUAD MEETING:  THE U.S. MISSION HOSTED A QUAD MEETING ON MA 
31, 2005, WHICH DISCUSSED THE US-EC JOINT SUBMISSION ON REVISION OF 
THE TEXT AND THE US-CANADA-JAPAN JOINT SUBMISSION ON THE DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES ARTICLE.  THE QUAD ALSO DISCUSSED THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 
WORK OF THE COMMITTEE. 
 
3.     INFORMAL MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
 
4.   (SBU) HORIZONTAL COVERAGE ISSUES:  ON MAY 30, THE COMMITTEE HELD 
AN INFORMAL SESSION ON THE SO-CALLED "HORIZONTAL COVERAGE ISSUES 
PURSUANT TO THE COMMITTEE'S DECISION ON MODALITIES FOR THE 
NEGOTIATIONS ON EXTENSION OF COVERAGE AND ELIMINATION OF 
DISCRIMINATORY MEASURES AND PRACTICES (GPA/79), JULY 2004.  THE 
DISCUSSION FOCUSED ON A U.S. SUBMISSION (JOB 3373), MAY 20, 2005, 
WHICH INCLUDED TEXT PROPOSALS RELATED TO HORIZONTAL COVERAGE ISSUES, 
SUCH AS BUILD-OPERATE-TRANSFER CONTRACTS, THE DEFINITION OF 
PROCURMENT, AND PROPOSED AGREEMENT-WIDE EXCLUSIONS.  THE U.S. PAPER 
ALSO PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS TO THE STRUCTURE AND THE CONTENT OF THE 
ANNEXES TO ENSURE GREATER UNIFORMITY AND TRANSPARENCY, AS WELL AS TO 
REMOVE UNNECESARY REPETITIONS.  THE U.S. PROPOSALS WERE INCORPORATED 
INTO THE REVISION OF THE TEXT.  CANADA ALSO TABLED PAPERS ON 
HORIZONTAL COVERAGE ISSUES. 
5.  (SBU) REVISION OF THE TEXT:  THE COMMITTEE'S INFORMAL DRAFTING 
SESSIONS ON THE REVISION OF THE AGREEMENT WERE VERY PRODUCTIVE, IN 
LARGE MEASURE DUE TO THE COMMITTEE'S POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THE JOINT 
U.S.-EU PROPOSALS ON A NUMBER OF PROVISIONS.  THE PROPOSALS WERE 
INCORPORATED INTO THE TEXT AS THE BASIS FOR CONTINUED NEGOTATIONS. 
THE PROPOSALS PROVIDED THE COMMITTEE WITH A BASIS FOR FINALLY MOVING 
FORWARD ON THE LONG-CONTENTIOUS ARTICLE VIII (CONDITIONS FOR 
PARTICIPATION).  SIMILARLY, THE JOINT SUBMISSION PROVIDED A BASIS FOR 
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON VALUATION PROVISIONS. ARTICLE XVI 
(MODIFICATIONS AND RECTIFICATIONS TO COVERAGE) (AND A RELATED PROPOSE 
COMMITTEE DECISION ON WORKING PROCEDURES FOR ARBITRATION), AND ARTICL 
XVIII (CONSULTATIONS AND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT). 
 
6.  (SBU) THE JOINT U.S.-CANADA-JAPAN SUBMISSION ON THE DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES ARTICLE (JOB 3026), MAY 4, 2005, SERVED AS THE BASIS OF THE 
COMMITTEE'S DISCUSSION ON THAT ARTICLE.  THE EC PROPOSED SEVERAL 
MODIFICATIONS TO THE PROPOSAL THAT ILLUSTRATED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE 
ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE ARTICLE, IN PARTICULAR, THE TYPES OF 
TRANSITIONAL MEASURES THAT SHOULD BE FAVORED.  THE EU SUPPORTS A MORE 
LIBERAL APPROACH TO PROVIDING INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRY 
ACCESSION TO THE GPA THAN DOES THE UNITED STATES. 
 
7.     INFORMAL BILATERAL WITH THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA 
 
8.  (SBU) THE UNITED STATES DELEGATION ALSO HELD AN INFORMAL BILATERA 
DISCUSSION WITH THE KOREAN DELEGATION, BASED ON THE LATTER'S REQUEST, 
ON THE STATUS OF MARKET ACCESS NEGOTIATIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS 
REGARDING THEIR RESPECTIVE REQUESTS.  KOREA ALSO EMPHASIZED THE 
DIFFICULTIES IT FACED IN LOWERING ITS THRESHOLDS FOR CONSTRUCTION 
SERVICES, WHICH ALONG WITH JAPAN, ARE HIGHER THAN OTHER PARTIES. 
 
9.     NEXT MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE 
 
10. (SBU) THE COMMITTEE WILL CONVENE AGAIN THE WEEK OF JULY 18, 2005 
WITH THE GOAL OF FINALIZING (TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE) THE REVISION OF 
THE NON-MARKET-ACCESS RELATED PROVISIONS OF THE TEXT.  THE MAJOR 
OUTSTANDING ISSUES IN THE TEXT ARE THE PROVISIONS ON DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES, THE MEANS AND EXTENT OF INCORPORATING ELECTRONIC 
PROCUREMENT PROVISIONS INTO THE AGREEMENT, AND CONDITIONS FOR 
PARTICIPATION, IN PARTICULAR, JAPAN'S CONCERNS THAT ITS SYSTEM DOES 
NOT COMPLY WITH THE CURRENT REVISION.  THE COMMITTEE WILL ALSO TAKE U 
MARKET ACCESS ISSUES, IN PARTICULAR HORIZONTAL COVERAGE ISSUES, THE 
UNITED STATES MAINTAINED ITS VIEW THAT BOTH TEXT AND MARKET ACCESS 
WORK SHOULD CONTINUE TO PROGRESS IN PARALLEL, AND THAT BOTH SHOULD BE 
COMPLETED BY THE CONCLUSION OF THE DOHA ROUND. 
 
DSHARK