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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWR #0604 1631632
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 121632Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8431
INFO RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 000604 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/CE FOR YEAGER, OSD FOR MITCHELL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2019 
TAGS: PREL PM MAPP PL
SUBJECT: SEVENTH US-POLISH SOFA PLENARY MAKES MODEST 
PROGRESS 
 
REF: A. WARSAW 433 
     ¶B. WARSAW 466 
     ¶C. WARSAW 564 
 
Classified By: CDA Quanrud for reasons 1.4 b and d 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  U.S. and Polish delegations made some progress in 
round seven of U.S.-Poland SOFA negotiations held in Warsaw 
June 8-10, but fell short of the ambitious agenda articulated 
by the Polish side.  Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw 
Komorowski, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer, and 
Deputy Finance Minister Jacek Dominik led the Polish 
delegation.  Ambassador Jackson McDonald, Special Advisor for 
Security Negotiations and Agreements, led the U.S. delegation. 
 
¶2.  (C)  In the one-on-one initial session, Komorowski 
reiterated to Ambassador McDonald that he wanted to finish 
the plenary with a clean text minus the three to five issues 
that would require higher political resolution (ref a). 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The sides reached full, provisional agreement on 
several articles - Customs Procedures, Health, Implementation 
of Disputes, and Final Provisions.  The sides agreed to 
delete Protection of Information from the text as it is 
already covered in a separate bilateral agreement. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Major differences persist, however.  A short sample: 
In contrast to other NATO member states, Poland refuses 
point-of-sale VAT exemption and insists on reimbursement, 
which U.S. DOD rejects (although Dominik has agreed to 
consider a U.S. proposal that may bridge this gap).  Poland 
has not agreed to grant profit tax exemption for contractors 
and income tax exemption for contractor employees.  Poland 
insists that USG contracts be concluded in accordance with 
Polish law rather than in accordance with U.S. law as we 
require.  Neither claims nor jurisdiction were discussed at 
this round due to lack of time, but in previous rounds Poland 
had refused to adhere to claims procedures as outlined in the 
NATO SOFA.  On jurisdiction, while not discussed in Plenary, 
it was suggested elsewhere that Poland may propose an 
arrangement similar to the one we have with Spain and the 
Czech Republic. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Several themes permeated the negotiations.  Broadly 
speaking Poland seems to expect special treatment not 
accorded other NATO members.  Poland also seems to expect 
substantive compliance with Polish law and does not seem to 
accept the principle that one sovereign does not comply with 
the laws of another -- a theme that recurs throughout the 
draft.  Finally, the GOP appears to be afraid that the USG 
will undercut Polish firms by making contracts with 
non-Polish firms and importing goods and services from 
outside of Poland. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The next round is scheduled for July 14-16 in 
Washington.  Working groups on Finance and Environment will 
convene in person or electronically in the meantime. 
 
¶7.  (C)  COMMENT.  Komorowski entered the seventh round 
hoping to complete the majority of the work and perhaps 
conclude SOFA negotiations at the next round in July (ref b 
and c), although he had largely abandoned this hope by the 
end of the first day of talks.  Unfortunately, the Polish 
side systematically overestimates the amount of text that can 
be negotiated in a three-day round, and underestimates the 
seriousness of the points upon which our positions diverge. 
While we try to accommodate the Poles' concerns whenever 
possible, they are often asking us to yield on points where 
we have no flexibility for policy and/or legal reasons. 
Despite Komorowski's public statements about submitting the 
SOFA for ratification in September, it is more likely that 
September will see the ninth round of negotiations.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
¶8. Ambassador McDonald has cleared on this cable. 
QUANRUD