VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHME #2626/01 2462003
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 032003Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8125
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 2650

UNCLAS MEXICO 002626 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USTR/MURPHY, MELLE, O'CONNOR 
NSC FOR RESTREPO/O'REILLY 
USDA FOR FFAS/MILLER, FAS FOR OA/MICHENER, STOLL, 
- ADAMS; OCRA/HIGGISTON, ZANIN; OSTA/HAMILTON; 
- ONA/RIEMENSCHNEIDER, GRUNENFELDER 
PASS APHIS FOR SMITH, FSIS FOR ALMANZA, JONES 
HHS FOR FDA 
COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/DAS/AC/SKIP JONES AND 
- ITA/MAC/DAS/WH/WALTER BASTIAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD NAFTA TBIO MX
SUBJECT: ECONOMIA ON REG COOPERATION, 5-MINISTER MTG 
 
REF: MEXICO 2308 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Mexico's Secretariat of Economy (SE) 
seeks to advance the cause of trilateral regulatory 
cooperation and proposes some further steps in the 
realm of sanitary-phytosanitary work, to be followed 
by non-agricultural issues in coming months.  SE seeks 
a meeting of the Free Trade Commission on the margins 
of the APEC meeting November 11-12.  SE also wishes to 
schedule a 5-minister conference soon, if possible 
this year but no later than February 2010.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------- 
SE'S DESIRED MEETING SCHEDULE 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) SE Under Secretary for International 
Trade Negotiations Beatriz Leycegui advised 
emboffs September 1 that 
 
- SE seeks a pre-meeting on September 22 in 
Washington to prepare for a subsequent meeting of 
the Free Trade Commission; 
 
- SE hopes a Free Trade Commission meeting can be 
scheduled around the APEC meeting November 11-12 
to take advantage of the presence of the relevant 
principals; 
 
- SE recognizes that Commerce Secretary Locke 
wishes for Secretary of Economy Ruiz Mateos to 
attend the 2009 Americas Competitiveness Forum in 
Chile September 28-29, but regrets Ruiz Mateos 
cannot.  SE would like a bilateral meeting 
between Secretaries Locke and Ruiz Mateos in 
either WashDC or Mexico City at both sides' 
earliest convenience. 
 
- SE regrets it cannot be represented at a high 
level at the Detroit NAFTA meeting at which 
Commerce Secretary Locke will speak (September 
9/10), but that date conflicts with the Free 
Trade Commission meeting in WashDC. 
 
- Please see para 11, below, on SE's desire for a 
5-minister meeting. 
 
---------------------- 
REGULATORY COOPERATION 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Juan Antonio Dorantes, Director General 
for Foreign Trade Analysis, said he has been in 
touch with USTR on the issue of a regulatory 
cooperation framework.  He explained that 
following the North American Leaders Summit in 
Guadalajara, SE's leadership recommended not 
changing the memorandum of understanding of the 
Consultative Committee on Agriculture (CCA) to 
accommodate regulatory cooperation, but rather to 
fold regulatory cooperation into the Security and 
Prosperity Partnership (SPP).  The logic, he said, 
is that SPP is trilateral while the CCA is only 
bilateral, and regulatory cooperation should 
encompass all three North American countries. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Leycegui added that the Secretariat of 
Agriculture (SAGARPA) may also not wish to amend 
the CCA MOU, but may instead aim for procedural 
changes (NOTE: AgMinCouns will consult with 
SAGARPA this week.  END NOTE). 
 
¶5. (SBU) Dorantes continued that the North 
American Leaders Summit cited the regulatory 
cooperation framework and mandated continuing 
efforts with timeframes.  He said Mexico is 
compiling a list of 11 initiatives, ranging from 
the Asian gypsy moth to chemical harmonization, 
which list it will prioritize and winnow with 
input from its private sector.  He said Mexico 
hopes for a memorandum of understanding on 
regulatory cooperation to "strengthen 
cooperation" but with an additional objective of 
linking cooperation to the Free Trade Commission 
and the NAFTA Committee on Regulations and 
Standards. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Dorantes acknowledged U.S. concern about 
the prospect of potential mandatory standards and 
Canada's concern about that country's need for 
Parliamentary approval, but said Mexico plans to 
move forward with a draft workplan.  After that, 
Mexico will seek to create a mechanism for 
consulting with the private sector, a la the U.S. 
practice, and to seek public comment.  Dorantes 
explicitly acknowledged USTR's reservations about 
placing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues 
in the same collaborative framework with 
technical barriers to trade (TBT). 
 
¶7. (SBU) Leycegui noted that the Mexican 
veterinary and phytosanitary service (SENASICA) 
is working on definitions of standards that 
should be harmonized, as well as common 
procedures, audits, and handling of disease 
outbreaks.  SENASICA, she said, has identified 2 
or 3 proposals with which it wishes to start. 
She said it is not clear whether SENASICA will 
seek an MOU or be content with a workplan, but 
added that the Mexican presidential 
administration "wants more formality".  She said 
SE understands U.S. resistance to higher levels 
of formality.  Dorantes said that from the 
Mexican perspective the best scenario is the 
trilateral MOU presented to USTR in July (REFTEL). 
 
¶8. (SBU) Leycegui opined that a first step might 
be to reproduce the almost-finished meat 
inspection protocol negotiated by SENASICA and 
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service in the 
poultry sector.  She said she had discussed this 
with Sergio Chavez, head of the Mexican National 
Poultry Union, and said he is receptive.  She 
suggested that "substantial progress" could be 
made by SENASICA and FSIS before the National 
Poultry Union's annual congress in November, if 
that union and its U.S. counterpart, the USA 
Poultry and Egg Export Council, are equally 
supportive. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Leycegui added that Mexico is trying to 
put together a formal mechanism for private- 
sector input into this process, which will 
include NGOs as well as private industry. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In response to a question from emboff, 
Leycegui noted that non-agricultural regulatory 
cooperation is also very much on SE's mind, for 
example in telecommunications standards.  However, 
she said, we need a plan, and to define who the 
competent authorities will be.  SE is preparing a 
list but it has not yet been cleared internally, 
let alone vetted by the private sector interests, 
but she foresees this list coming forth in a few 
months as a proposed annex to the draft MOU on 
regulatory cooperation. 
 
---------------------- 
FIVE-MINISTERS MEETING 
---------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Leycegui expressed Mexico's desire to 
convoke a meeting of the "five ministers" 
(Commerce Secretary Locke and USTR Kirk from the 
U.S., Ministers Clements and Stockwell-Day from 
Canada, and Ruiz Mateos from Mexico) to discuss 
competitiveness.  She betrayed some frustration 
that no such meeting appears possible in calendar 
2009, but expressed hope that such a meeting 
could be scheduled for January or February.  This 
meeting, she noted, should include private sector 
input and Mexico is considering what NGOs 
(industry associations, consumer groups, etc.) 
might best be included. 
 
------------ 
CCA FOLLOWUP 
------------ 
 
¶12. (SBU) Leycegui acknowledged receipt of AUSTR 
Murphy's letter on pistachios and said SE is 
preparing a cover letter to transmit it to the 
Secretariat of Finance (which oversees Customs). 
 
¶13. (SBU) On sugar, Leycegui said the new 
regulations requiring licenses to export sugar 
have been published so that matter is now closed. 
 
¶14. (SBU) On dairy products, Leycegui said we 
need to "push the agenda" and put together the 
working group proposed at the CCA. 
 
-------- 
COMMENT: 
-------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Taking its cue from the Guadalajara 
summit, Mexico has begun to prepare itself to 
take a first stab at a trilateral proposal on 
both agricultural and non-agricultural regulatory 
cooperation.  The GOM proposes that this 
cooperation would begin in a few agricultural 
sectors, and is also preparing a list of non-ag 
sectors including telecoms as a basis for 
discussion.   Mexican officials are under no 
illusions about the bureaucratic hurdles in 
Washington. They hope to clarify their intentions 
over the next months.  However, they are also 
keenly aware that a mechanism that could 
potentially ease trade barriers could find 
private sector support on both sides of the 
border, and continue the leaders' summit tasking. 
 
¶16. (SBU) In side conversations the Mexicans have 
pointed out that once you have low tariffs, SPS 
and TBT issues come next.  They are proceeding 
carefully, looking for practical solutions and 
low hanging fruit, and avoiding dogma in how to 
move forward.  The Mexicans are also clearly 
aware that this long-term solution could be a 
palliative for a number of perennial trade 
irritants.  While we and they recognize it would 
be bound to be a challenging and complex process, 
it would clearly be the kind of approach ("a more 
competitive North America") that political 
leaders in both countries are likely to 
appreciate. 
PASCUAL