Cablegate: Bahrain: Wto Doha Round European Agriculture

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS MANAMA 001623

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

NEA/ARPI
USDA/FAS FOR ROBERTS, YOUNG
USTR FOR DWOSKIN, HAFEMEISTER, BUNTIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON EAGR EU BA
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: WTO DOHA ROUND EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE
PROPOSAL DEMARCHE

REF: STATE 199861

Sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly. Not
for Internet distribution.

1. (U) EconOff November 2 delivered reftel demarche to
Ministry of Industry and Commerce Director of Foreign Trade
Relations Abdul Razak Zainalabedin concerning the need to
encourage greater flexibility from the EU in the wake of the
October 28 EU agriculture proposal. He expressed familiarity
with the topic and said he was awaiting instructions from
Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Hassan Fakhro before
making a formal statement on Bahrain's position.

2. (SBU) However, Zainalabedin said the Ministry's
provisional position is one of support for the U.S. He said
the GOB is currently evaluating the best means of expressing
its support and that one possibility might be to issue a
paper on the subject.

3. (U) Zainalabedin noted that because Bahrain is a net
importer of agricultural goods, it is likely that sharp
reductions in world agricultural subsidies would result in
higher prices to Bahraini consumers of these goods. He
emphasized that despite this fact, Bahrain would support the
U.S. as it has since the 2003 WTO summit in Cancun.
MONROE

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