VZCZCXRO6544
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHFR #0693/01 0541821
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231821Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5111
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 1551
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0332
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2610
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000693 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BRUSSELS PASS USEU FOR AGMINCOUNSELOR 
STATE FOR OES; EUR/ERA; 
STATE PASS USTR FOR MURPHY; 
USDA/OS/JOHANNS/TERPSTRA; 
USDA/FAS FOR OA/YOST; 
OCRA/CURTIS 
ONA/RIEMENSCHNEIDER 
FAA/YOUNG; 
EU POSTS PASS TO AGRICULTURE AND ECON 
GENEVA FOR USTR, ALSO AGRICULTURE 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD EU FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE STILL DUBIOUS ABOUT POSITIVE DDA OUTCOME 
 
REF: (A) 2007 State 15811 
 
PARIS 00000693  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Paris AGR and ECON officials transmitted the reftel talking 
points to Philippe Duclaud, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the French 
Minister of Agriculture, Christian Ligeard, the Head of the 
International Affairs Office at the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Raphael Alomar, Agricultural Adviser to the French President. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Christian Ligeard stated that France welcomes the restart 
of the discussion but maintains its position that the EU should not 
move beyond its 2005 Hong Kong proposal, especially in the absence 
of substantive proposals from both the United States and the G20 
group of developing countries. Lowering tariff rates beyond the 39 
percent proposal plus adding TRQs for sensitive products would 
necessitate a further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, 
which France opposes. In addition, Philippe Duclaud said that France 
fears that the EU Commission would never implement safeguard clauses 
should imports rise excessively, counter to the U.S. approach. On a 
more positive note, Christian Ligeard said that France agreed with 
the U.S. proposal that tariff decreases be based on applied tariffs 
as decreases on bound tariff would be - quote - fictitious - end 
quote -. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Presidential Adviser Raphael Alomar, the key 
agricultural issues France would like to see addressed by EU trading 
partners in compensation for the abolition of export subsidies are 
geographic indications (GI), state trading enterprises, food aid and 
export credits in addition to domestic subsidies. Alomar 
specifically mentioned that in France's views, the recent USDA farm 
bill proposal was very disappointing in terms of reducing domestic 
support. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Alomar also repeated that currently, none of the proposals 
on offer, especially on NAMA and services from major developing 
countries, would justify new EU concessions. Ligeard specifically 
criticized India's -quote - stubbornness - end quote - on investment 
rules and opening of its agricultural market but praised Brazil's 
recent openness on services. 
 
5.(SBU) Both interlocutors said that the current GOF will maintain 
its hard-line with Commissioner Mandelson, reminding him to stay 
within the parameters of his negotiating mandate. President Chirac 
recently wrote a letter reiterating his opposition to any further EU 
concessions to German Chancellor Merkel. Both interlocutors do not 
expect any significant change after the May 2007 Presidential 
election as both rightwing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and leftwing 
candidate Segolene Royal have publicly supported regulation of free 
trade and expressed opposition to any agreement that would 
disadvantage France. France also believes it has a blocking minority 
(if not a majority) at the EU Council to derail any agreement which 
it opposes. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The overall impression from our interlocutors is that 
France is not willing to conclude the DDA soon. Ligeard said that 
several economists have estimated the global growth gain from DDA at 
less than 0.5 percent and that the EU and France have a lot to lose 
and little to gain from an agreement. Alomar estimated that French 
job losses from the opening of agricultural markets could exceed 
100,000, threatening France's "sovereign right to food 
self-sufficiency". In his views, the only winners would be Brazil, 
Cairns group countries, and to a much lesser extent, the United 
States. Less developed countries (Africa) would be the biggest 
losers as they already benefit from extensive market access in the 
EU, market access they would loose to Brazil or Argentina should 
tariffs decrease. Finally, neither Alomar nor Duclaud foresee an 
agreement being reached in 2007. They would rather envision a 2009 
or 2010 conclusion, though Alomar did say that if the elements of a 
deal came together this year, it would likely be in the September- 
December time-frame. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Surprisingly, French interlocutors seemed to believe that 
the DDA difficulties reflected the failure of what they see as an 
 
PARIS 00000693  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
excessively large multilateral round. According to Ligeard, too many 
countries with too many diverging interests will never agree. He 
concluded that France would not be opposed to multilateral 
agreements among large groups of countries with similar interests 
and similar levels of development. 
 
Stapleton