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Cablegate: French On Doha, Geographical Indications and Convention On

VZCZCXRO3651
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHFR #1456 3021523
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291523Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7438
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS PARIS 001456

SENSITIVE
NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION

SIPDIS

STATE PASS USTR FOR TANUJA GARDE AND DAWN SHACKLEFORD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON EAGR KIPR FR
SUBJECT: French on Doha, Geographical Indications and Convention on
Biological Diversity: No Surprises

Ref: SecState 104985

1. (U) The French provided a predictable response to reftel demarche
on Geographical Indications and the Convention on Biodiversity.GOF
officials noted that geographical indications were a political
priority for France and should be part of the Doha Development
Agenda (DDA) package. Comment: The current domestic climate on
agriculture is volatile: protesting farmers recently forced a 1.65
($2 billion) assistance package from the government and the GOF is
unlikely to make any visible "concessions" on agriculture in
international negotiations.

2. (SBU) Georg Riekeles, Diplomatic Advisor to French Agriculture
Minister Le Maire, told AgMincouns that an agreement on GIs would
make the current unbalanced agricultural deal more politically
palatable in France, while obtaining patent disclosure measures
would sweeten the deal for G20 countries. Riekeles cited agreement
on this position at the highest EU levels, including Commission
President Barroso, French President Sarkozy, German Chancellor
Merkel, and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi, as well as other EU
heads of state. Riekeles understands that the United States will
not negotiate on GIs, and understands that any Doha deal must pass
Congress. In an October meeting in Washington, Representative Colin
Peterson reportedly refused to discuss the possibility of a Doha
Agreement with Minister Le Maire.

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3. (SBU) Elie Beauroy, Director for agricultural trade at the
Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Employment, agreed that progress
on GIs remains a political imperative. He told econoffs that the EU
will stick to the July 2008 Commission proposal presented in Geneva
that links an extension of GIs beyond wine and spirits, a legally
binding register, and patent disclosure measures for genetic
resources and traditional knowledge. But Beauroy held a slightly
less stark view of the U.S. position, claiming that just as a
compromise was reached on non-hormone beef imports, a "technical
solution" could have been found "on the spot" for GIs had the
Ministers wanted to resolve it. Beauroy said he was surprised that
the USG is raising the GI/CBD issue now, since the U.S. did not cite
GIs as a fatal flaw when it raised objections to the text at the WTO
Ministerial in July 2008. Beauroy said the timing of the demarche
on GIs seems political, and that he and his colleagues were
wondering whether the new U.S. administration was hoping to restart
Doha negotiations from scratch, perhaps because it does not want to
take new political risks while grappling with health care reform and
other priorities. Beauroy and his colleagues expressed frustration
that the U.S. has not explained what it wants, e.g., in terms of
market access, and only engages to say what it will not accept.

Allegrone

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