VZCZCXRO3651
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHFR #1456 3021523
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291523Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7438
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS PARIS 001456 
 
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SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USTR FOR TANUJA GARDE AND DAWN SHACKLEFORD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ECON EAGR KIPR FR
SUBJECT: French on Doha, Geographical Indications and Convention on 
Biological Diversity: No Surprises 
 
Ref: SecState 104985 
 
¶1. (U) The French provided a predictable response to reftel demarche 
on Geographical Indications and the Convention on Biodiversity.GOF 
officials noted that geographical indications were a political 
priority for France and should be part of the Doha Development 
Agenda (DDA) package.  Comment: The current domestic climate on 
agriculture is volatile:  protesting farmers recently forced a 1.65 
($2 billion) assistance package from the government and the GOF is 
unlikely to make any visible "concessions" on agriculture in 
international negotiations. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Georg Riekeles, Diplomatic Advisor to French Agriculture 
Minister Le Maire, told AgMincouns that an agreement on GIs would 
make the current unbalanced agricultural deal more politically 
palatable in France, while obtaining patent disclosure measures 
would sweeten the deal for G20 countries.  Riekeles cited agreement 
on this position at the highest EU levels, including Commission 
President Barroso, French President Sarkozy, German Chancellor 
Merkel, and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi, as well as other EU 
heads of state.  Riekeles understands that the United States will 
not negotiate on GIs, and understands that any Doha deal must pass 
Congress.  In an October meeting in Washington, Representative Colin 
Peterson reportedly refused to discuss the possibility of a Doha 
Agreement with Minister Le Maire. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Elie Beauroy, Director for agricultural trade at the 
Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Employment, agreed that progress 
on GIs remains a political imperative.  He told econoffs that the EU 
will stick to the July 2008 Commission proposal presented in Geneva 
that links an extension of GIs beyond wine and spirits, a legally 
binding register, and patent disclosure measures for genetic 
resources and traditional knowledge.  But Beauroy held a slightly 
less stark view of the U.S. position, claiming that just as a 
compromise was reached on non-hormone beef imports, a "technical 
solution" could have been found "on the spot" for GIs had the 
Ministers wanted to resolve it.  Beauroy said he was surprised that 
the USG is raising the GI/CBD issue now, since the U.S. did not cite 
GIs as a fatal flaw when it raised objections to the text at the WTO 
Ministerial in July 2008.  Beauroy said the timing of the demarche 
on GIs seems political, and that he and his colleagues were 
wondering whether the new U.S. administration was hoping to restart 
Doha negotiations from scratch, perhaps because it does not want to 
take new political risks while grappling with health care reform and 
other priorities.  Beauroy and his colleagues expressed frustration 
that the U.S. has not explained what it wants, e.g., in terms of 
market access, and only engages to say what it will not accept. 
 
Allegrone