US embassy cable - 05PARIS7598

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007598 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EB, EUR/WE AND EUR/ERA 
GENEVA FOR USTR 
STATE FOR USTR 
USDA FOR FAS/ITP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, EAGR, PGOV, FR 
SUBJECT: WTO DEMARCHE: FRENCH MAINTAIN VIEWS ON AG TRADE 
 
REF: A. STATE 1999861 B. TRADE OFFICERS E-MAIL CHAIN 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Emboffs delivered ref A points to key 
French officials at the Elysee, the Trade Ministry and the 
Foreign Ministry, who continue to voice their objections to 
the Commission's revised proposal for the WTO Doha Round 
negotiations.  The French approach seems to have changed very 
little over recent weeks. French officials say the 
Commission's latest proposals, like the previous ones, go 
even further beyond the Commission's agreed-upon negotiating 
mandate.  France therefore reserves the right to "veto" the 
EU position at any point. Dismissing the U.S. proposal, 
French officials say France "has sacrificed already", and 
cite their 2003 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy as 
agreed to by EU member states. END SUMMARY 
 
2. (SBU) Ministers and cabinet advisors alike say publicly 
the GOF has lost confidence in EU Trade Commissioner Peter 
Mandelson. Agriculture Minister Bussereau, like other 
Ministers, continues to speak disparagingly of him and of the 
Commission's new proposal. The EU's proposal, says Herve 
Lejeune, President Chirac's agriculture advisor, is even 
further from the Commission's mandate.  For example, he 
called the "safeguard" proposals "nothing but hot air." 
Lejeune told FAS M/C and Econoff that President Chirac has 
therefore reserved the right to "veto" the EU's proposal at 
whatever time he deems necessary.  A French veto could come 
at any time, in the next days, at the Hong Kong Ministerial 
in December or even later. 
 
3. (SBU) MinAg's international affairs chief Christian 
Ligeard told FAS M/C that France would nevertheless maintain 
a high profile in the agriculture negotiations, and hinted at 
a more flexible approach if significant advances are made in 
other sectors, such as services. 
 
4. (SBU) French officials make clear President Chirac is in 
charge on this issue. Chirac advisor Lejeune said he believed 
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy and Trade Commissioner Peter 
Mandelson's strategy was "to isolate France".  Nevertheless, 
the "President of the Republic" was "very calm".  (Note: 
Pascal Lamy, while French, is an active member of France's 
Socialist Party. Chirac only reluctantly supported Lamy's 
candidacy as Director-General of the World Trade 
Organization.) 
 
 
KEY FACTORS 
----------- 
 
5.  (SBU) The key factors for France, according to Lejeune 
were: 
 
A) France stands by the "sacrifices" embodied by the 2003 CAP 
reform; the current Commission, is disregarding it; 
 
B) Perceived public support for agricultural protectionism is 
strong. 
 
C) France is committed to a development round, but is more 
interested in helping LDCs like Mali, than emerging export 
powerhouses like Brazil. 
 
As did other officials, Lejeune dismissed the recent U.S. 
agricultural proposal as containing less than meets the eye, 
and referred disparagingly to the US proposal.  Regardless of 
its merits, Lejeune said, France cannot be persuaded that the 
U.S. offers will stand in advance of Congressional debate on 
the Farm Bill. 
 
SINGLING OUT BRAZIL 
------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) Curiously, the Brazilians are also regularly singled 
out for opprobrium in private meetings.  Despite a yearlong 
cultural celebration in France in 2005 known as "the Year of 
Brazil", GOF officials regularly deride Brazil's dubious 
status as a developing country and criticize Brazil's 
aggressive trade negotiating style.  Chirac's multilateral 
advisor Laurent Vigier posited a "nightmare scenario" for the 
U.S. and the EU in which the Brazilians would reap all the 
benefits from the Doha Round by pushing through full market 
access to the EU and forcing the US to reduce its domestic 
supports through more offensive dispute settlement cases at 
the WTO. 
 
COMMENT: A WAITING GAME? 
------------------------ 
 
7. (SBU) COMMENT: Over the last weeks, the French have not 
changed their tune on agricultural trade. Unlike some of 
their EU colleagues, they are not motivated to play the WTO 
game and try to match the U.S. or G20 in lowering 
agricultural tariffs or subsidies.  Given the negative 
political impact of the May referendum on the European 
constitution, the weakened Chirac/Villepin government likely 
sees no political upside to giving up subsidies for a key 
export sector and opening it to foreign competition at time 
where the economy is generally weak.  And traditionally, 
French voters have long supported a protectionist approach to 
agriculture, for a number of rational and historical reasons. 
 
8. (SBU)  COMMENT CONTINUED:  On the other hand, most 
government officials have hinted at France's strong interest 
in pursuing market access for its more competitive service 
and industrial goods sectors. As the government lays down a 
marker for a possible veto that could protect agriculture, it 
will benefit from waiting on the sidelines and seeing which 
way the wind blows on the other issues. 
STAPLETON 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
Stapleton