US embassy cable - 05GENEVA1778

UNCLAS GENEVA 001778 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS USTR FOR ALLGEIER AND DWOSKIN 
EB/OT FOR CRAFT 
USDA FOR FAS/ITP/SHEIKH, MTND/HENKE 
USDOC FOR ITA/JACOBS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, WTRO, USTR, Trade 
SUBJECT: MEETING OF THE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE - JULY 21, 
2005 
 
1.  The Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) met on the morning of 
July 21, 2005 to hear statements from Director-General Supachai 
on the overall state of play of the Doha Development Agenda and 
in ongoing consultations over implementation.  Supachai suspended 
the TNC after the statement, saying it was important to give 
Members more time work on substance, rather than to make 
statements.  He said the TNC would reconvene before, and at the 
latest immediately before, the meeting of the General Council 
scheduled for Friday, July 29. 
 
Status Report on the Doha Development Agenda 
 
2.  Supachai reminded Members of his prior warnings, including 
his reference at the last TNC that his finger was hovering over 
the alarm button.  Now it is time to push it, Supachai said - the 
crisis of immobility is deepening, and there is a continuing 
failure to turn political support into progress in the 
negotiations.  Referring to the informal gathering in Dalian, 
Supachai said there is political willingness to find common 
ground, but few answers are forthcoming.  But it is not too late, 
he stressed, for some advances to occur on key issues by the end 
of next week: 
 
    -In the agriculture negotiations, Supachai highlighted the 
     need to work on structure, particularly in the area of 
     market access, 
    -In NAMA, the chair wants agreement on the shape of the 
     formula by the end of July; there have been useful ideas to 
     bridge gaps, including by Pakistan, but the link with 
     agriculture is a brake on progress, and 
 
    -In development, there have been intensive consultations but 
     differences remain, and he urged participants to show more 
     flexibility. 
 
3.  Overall, there has been little substantive progress in key 
areas, Supachai said, and that means there will be a lot of work 
to do in the autumn.  All leaders seem committed to drive the 
negotiations forward to completion by 2006, he said, and there is 
no time to be lost.  He reiterated his message from the HODS that 
MC6 is not far away and there needs to be a balanced package in 
sight by then if the DDA is to finish in 2006. 
 
Consultative Process on Implementation 
 
4.  Supachai also provided a report on ongoing implementation 
consultations, noting a lack of convergence on the two tracks, 
the GI extension issue and the other outstanding implementation 
issues related to TRIPS, BOP, market access, TRIMS, Customs 
Valuation, Safeguards, and TBT.  Supachai concluded by saying he 
would recommend that his successor continue the consultative 
process after the summer break. 
 
5.  Following his remarks, Ambassador Georgiev of Bulgaria took 
the floor to charge that the chair swept the GI extension issue 
under the carpet by saying there were continuing disagreements 
among Members over the relation of the GI extension issue with 
the Doha mandate.  Georgiev argued that the mandate is clear in 
letter and in spirit and he alleged that some Members are not 
negotiating in good faith because they are not negotiating.  He 
added that if there is a failure this month, one reason for it 
will be that the the July 2005 date for appropriate action had 
been missed.  Supachai rejected these assertions.  He insu=isted 
that no one was sweeping anything under the rug.  There is simply 
a disagreement among Members, a situation that is hardly unique 
to GIs. 
 
Reports by Chairs 
 
6.  None of the chairs made substantive reports, but Faizel 
Ismail, chair of the ongoing work on S&D, took the floor briefly 
to say he would make a statement on development when the TNC 
resumes and he hoped to be in a position to report progress 
by Tuesday. Shark