VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLJ #0189/01 1190729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280729Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6647
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
INFO RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 1861

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000189 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE 
VIENNA FOR CQUINLIVAN 
USDOC FOR 3133/ITA/USFCS/OIO/EUR 
USDOC FOR 4200/ITA/MAC DAS for Europe 
USDOC FOR 4211/ITA/MAC OEURA 
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC OCEE 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD PREL PGOV EUN SI
SUBJECT: USDOC DYCK VISIT TO SLOVENIA FOCUSED ON TEC AND BILATERAL 
TRADE 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) Deputy Assistant 
Secretary Paul Dyck's early April meetings with senior officials 
 
SIPDIS 
from the Slovene government centered on the importance of moving the 
Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) forward and stressed the value 
of increasing bilateral trade and investment between the U.S. and 
Slovenia.  Dyck commended the Slovenes for a smooth EU Presidency 
and urged the Slovenes to take this opportunity at the helm to unify 
EU member states on identifying economic deliverables for the TEC 
meeting May 13 in Brussels and the proposed U.S.-EU summit in June. 
The Slovenes agreed that political will is needed to move issues 
such as TEC and climate change forward.  The Economic Ministry's 
(MOE) State Secretary Tomaz Jersic also agreed that Slovenia should 
look for more opportunities to develop economic ties with the U.S. 
End Summary. 
 
Strong Transatlantic Relationship is Essential 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On April 2, Slovene Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 
State Secretary Matjaz Sinkovec opened the meeting with Deputy 
Assistant Secretary Paul Dyck from the U.S. DOC's International 
Trade Administration by saying that "the transatlantic relationship 
is the most important for Europe."  He noted that Slovenia is a 
small market but that he believed that now is a good time for 
successful Slovenian investors to look for opportunities in the U.S. 
  He suggested that third generation biofuels might present a good 
opportunity for Slovenia to cooperate with the U.S.  Sinkovec and 
the other Slovene interlocutors supported Emboff's suggestion that 
Slovenia open a trade office in the U.S.  Dyck also suggested that 
the DOC would be happy to help Slovenia in setting one up.  Dyck 
pointed out that Slovenia is the U.S.'s one hundred and fourth (104) 
largest trading partner, which leaves room for improvement.  (Note. 
In response to Embassy urging that Slovenia should establish a trade 
office in the U.S., Peter Jesovnik, Director of the Slovene Public 
Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investment (JAPTI), told 
Emboff that the GOS is planning to set up a trade office in the U.S. 
in the next year or two.  The GOS is still trying to determine a 
strategic location for the office.  End Note.) 
 
GOS Says Slovene Presidency a Success 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Deputy Head of the Government Office for European Affairs 
Gregor Krajc focused largely on the Transatlantic Economic Council 
(TEC) and the resolution of the phytosanitary dispute regarding 
processing of poultry.  Dyck pointed out that this issue, while 
small, represents a test case for the U.S. in terms of the TEC's 
ability to resolve issues.  Krajc said that progress is being made 
and a risk assessment survey was filed with the European Commission 
but that the issue would probably not be resolved by the upcoming 
TEC meeting in May.  He cited the U.S.-EU summit as the most 
important summit of Slovenia's Presidency and hoped that both sides 
would be able to identify and agree upon some strong deliverables. 
Dyck said that the U.S. viewed Slovenia's Presidency of the EU as a 
success and hoped that progress would be made on concrete issues 
such as poultry and standards before the summit. 
 
Climate and Energy Package Needs Political Will 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (U) Krajc ran through a number of priority issues that will 
extend beyond the Slovene into the French Presidency.  He said the 
European Council has adopted the Lisbon Agenda and has discussed the 
"fifth liberty" - knowledge.  He said a goal that Slovenia will need 
to push to the French presidency is political commitment on climate 
and energy.  He added that he expects compromise by the end of the 
year and talked about "unbundling" these issues. 
 
Ministry of Economy Outlines Priorities 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Jersic discussed the EU position on TEC and then shared some 
of economic projects under development in Slovenia.  He realized 
that Slovenia, on its own, is not a large market and faces 
challenges in attracting large investments.  Jersic mentioned a 
common Slovenian refrain -- that Slovenia offers good advantages for 
companies wanting to serve the Southeastern Europe markets.  Jersic 
also mentioned opportunities related to his meetings with executives 
from General Electric and Starwood Hotels 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Slovenes heard Dyck's message that it should use its role as 
the EU Presidency to rally other member states around the TEC.  Post 
was very pleased with the large MOE delegation that turned out for 
the meeting with Dyck and the awareness that the MOE showed on 
details regarding U.S.-EU trade issues.  In the past, post has had 
difficulty engaging the MOE and in encouraging the MOE to take note 
of Slovenia's role in the global market.  The import of TEC and 
climate change issues seems to have roused the MOE from its 
indifference and forced it, as the president of the European 
Council, to take international economic issues seriously.  Post has 
experienced an increase in cooperation from the MOE and plans to 
work to continue and expand this relationship past Slovenia's 
presidency.  End Comment. 
 
¶7.  (U) Senior Foreign Commercial Service Officer Christopher 
Quinlivan cleared on this cable. 
 
COLEMAN