US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN1279

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001279 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ETRD, WTRO 
SUBJECT: IRELAND: EU HAS HIT THE LIMIT ON WTO AG 
NEGOTIATIONS 
 
REF: A. STATE 190730 
     B. YOUNG-EU TRADE OFFICERS 10/17 E-MAIL 
 
1.  On October 17, Post Agricultural Specialist delivered ref 
A demarche to Damian Flynn, Department of Agriculture and 
Food (DAF) EU Trade Office Principal Officer.  Flynn said 
that the GOI was scrutinizing the October 10 U.S. proposal, 
but conveyed DAF's view that the Commission had already 
offered as much as it could in the WTO ag negotiations.  He 
noted that Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlin had said as 
much in an October 13 statement calling on the Commission to 
defend the CAP.  (Note: In her statement, Coughlin said that 
the U.S. offer was welcome, but she expressed concern that 
the Commission had been "unnecessarily forthcoming in its 
response."  She also listed Irish priority areas for the 
negotiations, including maximum phase-out periods for export 
subsidies and guarantees that decoupled payments to farmers 
would continue to qualify as allowable Green Box payments. 
Ref B lists a link to Minister Coughlin's statement on the 
DAF website.)  Flynn added that Ireland, along with 12 other 
Member States, had fully endorsed a memorandum by French 
Agriculture Minister Bussereau to EU Agriculture Commissioner 
Fischer Boel on growing unease regarding the Commission's 
negotiating strategy. 
 
2.  On October 17, Post also delivered ref A demarche to Tony 
Joyce, Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment (DETE) 
Senior Trade Negotiator and Ireland's 133 Committee 
Titulaire.  Joyce said that the GOI welcomed the 
reinvigoration of agricultural trade negotiations prompted by 
the October 10 U.S. proposal, which he characterized as 
far-reaching in certain areas, though lacking specificity in 
others, particularly regarding export subsidies.  He observed 
that Ireland would continue to review the U.S. proposal, but 
he cited assurances from EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson to 
133 Committee members on October 14 that the Commission would 
not go beyond CAP reform limits in the negotiations.  He 
expressed hope that Mandelson could be creative within those 
limits.  Joyce also related, more generally, that Ireland 
remained concerned with seeming failures to address 
developing countries' needs in the run-up to the Hong Kong 
ministerial, as reflected in the lack of progress on the NAMA 
and services components of the Doha negotiations. 
KENNY