Cablegate: Ukraine's Wto Negotiator Requests Consultations In

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD WTRO UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE'S WTO NEGOTIATOR REQUESTS CONSULTATIONS IN
WASHINGTON

REFS: A) YARNELL-KLEIN EMAIL OF 11/7

B) KYIV 4183
C) MOLNAR-TSYMBAL EMAIL OF 10/22
D) KYIV 3670

1. (U) This message contains a request for guidance.
Please see para 3.

2. (SBU) Econ Counselor met on November 7 with Valeriy
Pyatnytskiy, Deputy Minister of Economy and Ukraine's lead
WTO negotiator. Pyatnytskiy briefed on recent progress
with outstanding WTO-related legislation (ref B) and said
that his team was intent on pushing ahead as quickly as
possible to capitalize on the building momentum in
Parliament. Pyatnytskiy recognized that some tweaks in the
draft legislation were necessary, however, and emphasized
that he wanted to ensure all the drafts were completely
WTO-compliant before they go for a final vote in
Parliament.

3. (SBU) As reported by ref A, Pyatnytskiy is requesting
assistance in setting up consultations with USTR officials
next week in Washington. Pyatnytskiy explained he was
seeking Washington's input on the outstanding legislation
and wanted to better understand where key WTO partners
might have some "flexibility" regarding draft text.
Referring to the USTR comments, he stated that in many
cases the issues raised by USTR were either
misunderstandings of the legislation or had been resolved
in subsequent GOU drafts. He felt a face-to-face
discussion could resolve many of these issues. (Note:
Pyatnytskiy is requesting a similar meeting in Brussels and
plans to be in Brussels November 13. End note.)
Pyatnytskiy promised to provide in advance of the proposed
meeting a response to USTR's recent comments on draft
legislation (ref C), as well as texts of drafts passed by
Parliament in the first reading. Pyatnytskiy also said he
would be willing to discuss agricultural issues with
Washington officials, and that he was working hard to solve
the outstanding issue of meat certificates. He stated the
Ministry of Economy had drafted a letter to resolve the
meat certificate issue; the letter was now with the Foreign
Affairs and Agrarian Policy Ministries for clearance. Post
requests Washington agencies' guidance on responding to
Pyatnytskiy's request about the possibility of arranging
such consultations for Pyatnytskiy and 2-3 members of his
staff.

4. (SBU) Regarding legislation, Pyatnytskiy said that he
expected Parliament next week to pass an additional 5-6
outstanding laws in the final reading, and a similar number
in the first reading. He claimed there is no daylight
between the Cabinet of Ministers and Presidential
Administration on moving the laws forward, and in terms of
substance of the draft laws relating to WTO. In many
cases, the Presidential and Cabinet of Ministers drafts
were identical. However, in some cases the Cabinet
clearance process resulted in ministries adding their own
wish-list provisions to government-sponsored drafts. In
most cases, said Pyatnytskiy, these extra provisions did
not have WTO implications, but they might complicate the
ratification process. The versions submitted by the
President, on the other hand, were limited to just those
legislative changes considered necessary for WTO purposes.

TAYLOR

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