VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTC #1433/01 1781557
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271557Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6160

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 001433 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/TPP/BTA, EUR/UBI, EUR/ERA 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR 
USDA/FAS (ROBERTS, YOUNG) 
USEU FOR CWILSON 
GENEVA FOR USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: WTRO EAGR ETRD EU NL
SUBJECT: DUTCH OFFICIALS OUTLINE TRADE PRIORITIES 
 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE TREAT 
ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Senior Dutch trade officials recently 
outlined current Dutch trade priorities: completion of Doha 
(WTO) talks, energy security, balancing of trade and security 
needs, and the export of Dutch water management expertise. A 
February 2007 High Tech Connections mission to San Francisco 
may include a water-related visit to Sacramento. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Emboffs used a June 14 introductory meeting with 
Roderick van Schreven, new Director General for Foreign Trade 
at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, to discuss current Dutch 
trade priorities. Van Schreven assumed his post in May, 
replacing Dirk Bruinsma. A career diplomat, he will continue 
to serve as Dutch ambassador to Syria until mid-July. Like 
his predecessor, van Schreven will be our primary Dutch 
contact in high-level trade talks. Emboffs met the same week 
with Richard van Rijssen, currently the Director of Foreign 
Trade Relations at the MEA but scheduled to take over as DCM 
at the Dutch Embassy in Washington later this summer. 
 
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Doha Negotiations 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Van Schreven listed completion of the Doha Round 
negotiations within the WTO talks as a top Dutch priority, 
including agreements on agriculture and services, even if 
less ambitious than once envisioned. He expressed concern 
that continued USG demands for EU concessions could harm 
overall US-EU relations. While there might be room to 
negotiate on sensitive products lists, he viewed expectations 
for a revised EU WTO offer as "misguided." The EU, and 
specifically member state France, believed its current offer 
had gone "as far as it could go" and had "already been 
trimmed," especially in the area of direct farm subsidies. 
Nevertheless, van Schreven noted progress within the various 
working committees, and underscored Dutch interest in 
reaching an overall agreement by April 2007 and ahead of the 
expiration of U.S. Trade Promotion Authority. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite strong messages to the contrary from USTR, 
van Schreven said that many in the EU still believed the US 
would make further concessions in its WTO offer. He also 
pointed to difficulties the Bush administration encountered 
in selling the Central American Free Trade Agreement to 
Congress, noting that some EU member states questioned 
whether similar problems would arise with the current U.S. 
WTO offer. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Van Schreven also noted concerns among EU member 
states about the potential rise of U.S. protectionism. As the 
third largest direct foreign investor in the United States, 
the Dutch had also followed the Dubai Ports deal closely. 
Many in the Dutch government regard the Committee on Foreign 
Investments in the United States (CFIUS) as a potential 
non-trade barrier rather than a security measure, a view he 
said was shared by several Dutch companies who have 
complained that CFIUS limits their ability to compete for 
investments in the U.S. Van Schreven urged the U.S. to 
carefully review the reach of CFIUS. 
 
--------------- 
Energy Security 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Both van Schreven and van Rijssen identified energy 
security as another key priority, emphasizing that Russia 
figures strongly in Dutch energy strategy. Although the Dutch 
have adequate natural gas reserves and are net exporters, van 
Schreven said these reserves are expected to last only 20-25 
years and new sources need to be developed. Van Rijssen noted 
the Netherlands thus is seeking to secure investment 
protection agreements (e.g., national treatment, 
repatriation) in Russia, Libya, Algeria, Central Asia, and 
other supplier countries. Given the current focus on energy 
security, both MEA officials said the ministry planned to 
name a special energy envoy by September 1 to lead overseas 
negotiations in this area. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Van Schreven explained that the GONL also sought to 
position Rotterdam as a liquified natural gas (LNG) transport 
center. While there are currently no LNG plants in the 
Netherlands, the Dutch are considering two projects at the 
port of Rotterdam and one near the Groningen natural gas 
fields in the north of the country. Under this scheme, the 
Dutch would provide the EU with strategic reserves, 
operational supply, transport, and storage capabilities and, 
thereby, help fulfill a EU priority of diversifying its 
natural gas supplies. Van Schreven noted that a LNG hub would 
also meet security objectives as "vessels can be redirected," 
making them less vulnerable than pipelines. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Under a seperate project, van Schreven said the 
Dutch company Gasunie, with support from GONL, had recently 
announced plans to join the Russian Gazprom $6 billion North 
European Gas Pipeline Project, which will supply gas under 
the Baltic Sea to Germany by 2010. In return, Gazprom will 
take a stake in Gasunie' pipeline project to England, which 
Gasunie is currently building together under the North Sea 
with the German company Eon. Both this and the LNG project, 
van Schreven added, would strengthen the Dutch position in 
natural gas, a sector where the Netherlands holds a 
comparative advantage. 
 
------------------ 
Trade and Security 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) Van Rijssen said the Dutch remain concerned about 
the economic impact of new security measures, such as travel 
restrictions and inspections, on the free flow of trade and 
business travelers. With 60-70% of all global trade crossing 
the Atlantic, differences in regulatory systems between the 
EU and U.S., such as that for food security and inspections, 
imposed a "huge cost" on both sides. He cited the Container 
Security Initiative as a positive example of how the U.S. and 
EU can balance security and economic needs. On the related 
issue of immigration, he said the Dutch are seeking a secure 
way to attract highly qualified foreign workers, perhaps 
through a point-based admission system, to fill a need left 
by the Netherlands' aging workforce. 
 
---------------- 
Water Management 
---------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Dutch have been actively involved in Katrina 
reconstruction efforts, especially in the area of water 
management. According to van Schreven, they are now exploring 
how to sell their water management expertise to other regions 
such as California, whose Sacramento valley shares many 
geographic similarities with the Netherlands. He said 
California officials have expressed "concern" over the state 
of their water management, and UC Berkeley and Davis have 
also indicated interest in bilateral exchange programs. As a 
follow-on to the 2004 and 2005 High Tech Connections (HTC) 
trade mission to Silicon Valley and Boston, respectively, van 
Schreven said the MEA is now planning a February 2007 HTC 
mission to San Francisco, which may include a water-related 
visit to Sacramento. 
 
--------------- 
Bio Information 
--------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Van Schreven - a career diplomat - is an accomplished 
sailor and mountain climber. He climbed Mount Ararat in 2005 
(5,165 m) with a Swiss mountain team, and has sailed across 
the Atlantic three times and participated in the 1977-78 
Whitbread Round the World Race. He speaks English and French 
fluently and Spanish well. Van Schreven was born in Ottawa in 
1954 and is married with a daughter and two sons. 
ARNALL