teacherone
12-17-2010, 09:31 AM
¶17. (SBU) On January 11, Senators Charles Grassley and John
Thune, together with the Deputy Chief of Mission, AgCouns and
EconOff, met with the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and
Trade,s Secretary of State for International Trade, Pedro
Mejia, and Secretary General Alfredo Bonet. Senator Grassley
emphasized the importance of science-based decisions in the
agricultural biotechnology context. Mejia said that Spain
had a relatively "liberal" view with respect to
biotechnology. However, even in Spain the technology was
controversial and faced NGO opposition, albeit not as strong
as in some other EU member states. Senator Thune asked what
influence Spain could exercise in Brussels on this issue.
Bonet noted it was very difficult to get a qualified majority
for biotech approvals in the EU Environment Council so in the
end the Commission was taking decisions in favor of
biotechnology. Both Mejia and Bonet noted that commodity
price hikes might spur greater liberalization on biotech
imports. The Secretary of State asked about the status of
the proposed elimination of the "splash and dash" tax credit
loophole that allows biodiesel producers in the U.S. to
import commodities such as soybeans, add a minimal amount of
petroleum diesel, and then reexport the biodiesel. European
producers have complained about these imports. The Senator
promised to get back to the Secretary of State on the status
of the proposed elimination of the loophole. Mejia said that
he was pessimistic about the prospects for Doha because major
developing countries were not willing to give sufficiently in
terms of industrial and services market access; he emphasized
especially Spain,s interest in better services access. He
noted also that with high agricultural commodity prices, some
developing countries now did not see why they should give on
industrial goods and services access. He said that the U.S.
was still under pressure to do more on domestic agricultural
support. Spain's senior trade representative asserted that
the EU had made a good agricultural access offer. The
Senators expressed support for Doha but were pessimistic
about getting support for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA)
this year. Finally, there was a lively discussion of
Secretary of State Mejia's February energy renewables trip to
the U.S. Both Senators Grassley and Thune were very
interested in the mission. (Comment: This was a very good
substantive discussion. However, it is clear that while
Spain will continue sometimes to vote in favor of
biotechnology liberalization proposals, the Spaniards will
tread warily on this issue given their own domestic
sensitivities and other equities Spain has in the EU. It was
interesting to hear Mejia,s strong emphasis on services as
the future of Spain,s economy. Unfortunately, Spanish
services companies have not been aggressive in promoting
Doha, although this is true of many other services companies
in Europe as well. End comment.)
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/02/08MADRID98.html#par17
Thune, together with the Deputy Chief of Mission, AgCouns and
EconOff, met with the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and
Trade,s Secretary of State for International Trade, Pedro
Mejia, and Secretary General Alfredo Bonet. Senator Grassley
emphasized the importance of science-based decisions in the
agricultural biotechnology context. Mejia said that Spain
had a relatively "liberal" view with respect to
biotechnology. However, even in Spain the technology was
controversial and faced NGO opposition, albeit not as strong
as in some other EU member states. Senator Thune asked what
influence Spain could exercise in Brussels on this issue.
Bonet noted it was very difficult to get a qualified majority
for biotech approvals in the EU Environment Council so in the
end the Commission was taking decisions in favor of
biotechnology. Both Mejia and Bonet noted that commodity
price hikes might spur greater liberalization on biotech
imports. The Secretary of State asked about the status of
the proposed elimination of the "splash and dash" tax credit
loophole that allows biodiesel producers in the U.S. to
import commodities such as soybeans, add a minimal amount of
petroleum diesel, and then reexport the biodiesel. European
producers have complained about these imports. The Senator
promised to get back to the Secretary of State on the status
of the proposed elimination of the loophole. Mejia said that
he was pessimistic about the prospects for Doha because major
developing countries were not willing to give sufficiently in
terms of industrial and services market access; he emphasized
especially Spain,s interest in better services access. He
noted also that with high agricultural commodity prices, some
developing countries now did not see why they should give on
industrial goods and services access. He said that the U.S.
was still under pressure to do more on domestic agricultural
support. Spain's senior trade representative asserted that
the EU had made a good agricultural access offer. The
Senators expressed support for Doha but were pessimistic
about getting support for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA)
this year. Finally, there was a lively discussion of
Secretary of State Mejia's February energy renewables trip to
the U.S. Both Senators Grassley and Thune were very
interested in the mission. (Comment: This was a very good
substantive discussion. However, it is clear that while
Spain will continue sometimes to vote in favor of
biotechnology liberalization proposals, the Spaniards will
tread warily on this issue given their own domestic
sensitivities and other equities Spain has in the EU. It was
interesting to hear Mejia,s strong emphasis on services as
the future of Spain,s economy. Unfortunately, Spanish
services companies have not been aggressive in promoting
Doha, although this is true of many other services companies
in Europe as well. End comment.)
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/02/08MADRID98.html#par17