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Viewing cable 05PARIS8619, FRANCE'S LEADING FARMERS UNION

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05PARIS8619 2005-12-22 15:42 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Paris
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

221542Z Dec 05
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 008619 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BRUSSELS PASS USEU FOR AGMINCOUNSELOR 
STATE FOR E, EB AND EUR/ERA; 
STATE PASS USTR FOR MURPHY; 
USDA FOR OS/JOHANNS AND PENN; 
USDA FOR FAS/OA/TERPSTRA/ROBERTS; 
ITP/SHEIKH/HENKE/MACKE/TOM POMEROY/MIKE 
WOOLSEY/GREG YOUNG; 
FAA/SEBRANEK/BLEGGI; 
EU POSTS PASS TO AGRICULTURE AND ECON 
GENEVA FOR USTR, ALSO AGRICULTURE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD PGOV FR WTRO EUN INR
SUBJECT:  FRANCE'S LEADING FARMERS UNION 
DISSATISFIED WITH HONG KONG RESULTS 
 
 
1.  Summary:  Even though France's President 
Jacques Chirac publicly expressed his satisfaction 
with the commitments made during the Doha 
negotiations in Hong Kong, the leading French farm 
organization, Federation Nationale Des Syndicats 
D'Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA), issued a press 
release on December 18, 2005, criticizing the 
course of the negotiations. However, most 
observers feel that France not only did well in 
Hong Kong by giving up little, but won politically 
as well, by having successfully enforced the 
Commission's negotiating mandate at Hong Kong. 
 End Summary. 
 
2.  In a meeting Dec 22 with Ag MinCounselor, 
FNSEA officials, including Mr. Jean-Michel 
Lemetayer, President, and Mr. Xavier Beulin, First 
Vice-President, expressed their concerns about the 
implications of the Doha negotiations to date. 
Further Hong Kong commitments to reduce financial 
support in Hong Kong have only added to the 
pessimistic mood of the French agricultural 
community, which has   endured a difficult year 
and faces the implementation of themore 2003 CAP 
reforms beginning January 1stst.  FNSEA officials 
stated that the terms agreed to in Hong Kong 
wereare unbalanced for two reasons:  first, 
agriculture, services and industrial goods sectors 
were not considered with equal weight and second, 
while the EU must eliminate export subsidies by 
2013, but other countries' export-oriented 
programs, such as food aid, are not subject to 
such specific commitments.  Thus, they feel the EU 
did not receive just compensation in other sectors 
in exchange for its sacrifice on agricultural 
export subsidies. 
 
3.  They reiterated a strong position that 
countries (or regional group of countries) be 
allowed to maintain some trade barriers in the 
interest of domestic food security and 
nationallocal sovereignty.  Within the context of 
out loud whether the United States was conspiring 
working closely with Brazil and other South 
American countries in order to isolate Europe from 
other trade alliances. They mentioned that Brazil 
and similar countries from the G20 group should 
not be considered as developing countries, at 
least for agriculture, as their agriculture is 
highly intensive and capitalistic. 
 
4.  FNSEA, together with the French Young Farmers 
Union, the French Federation of Farm Cooperatives 
and Credit, and the French Chambers of Agriculture 
constitute the French Agriculture Council (CAF). 
CAF released the following press communiqu after 
the negotiators had agreed on a compromise at the 
Hong Kong WTO Ministerial: 
 
QUOTE: Hong Kong Agreement: unsatisfactory step, 
and a future full of pitfalls. 
 
The Ministerial conference in Hong Kong ends 
withon an unbalanced declaration.  Concerning 
export subsidies, only Europe is making 
commitments on a date to eliminate export 
restitutions while provisions on State Trading 
Enterprises, trade-oriented food aid, and export 
credits are less restrictive. 
 
Given that the European Union largely contributed 
to development and made a substantial concession 
in export subsidies, we demand that the modalities 
for market access maintain European preferences. 
 
To date, on domestic support, the European Union 
has not highlighted the reform of the Common 
Agricultural Policy, while our negotiating 
partners have no obligation to review their 
domestic farm policy. 
 
In addition, agriculture was the only sector 
covered deeply and in details, which does not 
correspond to claims of the Doha conference. 
 
The Ministerial declaration adopted today in Hong 
Kong does not satisfy the French Agriculture 
Council, particularly because of its lack of 
balance, putting a significant part of the 
concessions on the European Union, with a direct 
impact on the CAP. 
 
The French Agricultural Council demands that the 
European Union stay extremely firm on the 
conditionality of its offer and be vigilant on the 
strict balance of the concessions.  END QUOTE. 
 
5. COMMENT:  The FNSEA's position needs to be 
viewed in the context of how other official 
observers see the Hong Kong outcome.  The 
government, including Agriculture Minister 
Bussereau, defends the deal the European 
Commission negotiators signed on to, and 
characterizes it as one that leaves the CAP pretty 
much intact. In the EU context, they win 
politically by having effectively enforced the 
EU's strict negotiating mandate. Other observers 
outside the government note that France couldn't 
have asked for a better outcome on agriculture, 
short of making no concessions at all. In any 
case, the FNSEA may prefer to remain on the 
offensive so as to keep the GOF on its toes on 
this key issue for France. 
 
STAPLETON