Letter to Robert B. Zoellick Regarding the EU's Enlargement Policies

January 28, 2004

The Honorable Robert B. Zoellick
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
600 17th St., NW
Washington, DC 20508

Dear Ambassador Zoellick:

Although the scheduled accession of the ten Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC-10) into the European Union (EU) is only a few months away, the EU Commission has still not explained the details of its enlargement agricultural policies or engaged with the United States on how to avoid harm to U.S. trading interests.

The Commission's non-transparency and notification delays appear to relate to an internal Commission decision to delay WTO "compensation" talks until just before enlargement takes effect. The Commission apparently believes that delayed compensation talks will give it a negotiating advantage over the United States and other supplying countries, who may find it more difficult on the eve of enlargement to assess and calculate their full compensation rights.

As you know, U.S. agricultural interests have much at stake under EU enlargement.

• The EU's illegal ban on U.S. beef and unnecessarily restrictive meat inspection regulations will be extended to the new members, compounding current levels of injury.
• Restrictive EU biotechnology policies and other technical barriers will likewise be extended with harmful commercial consequences.
• Certain US/EU bilateral agreements (e.g., bananas) run a high risk of being violated, which would put the EU again into non-compliance in important WTO cases.
• Certain fruits and vegetables could lose overall access, as could U.S. agricultural products covered by TRQs (e.g., rice).
• An extension of the Common Agricultural Policy to certain sectors (dairy, cereals, sugar, fresh and processed horticulture, and planting seeds) could greatly compound access distortions.
• The EU's WTO-bound commitments on oilseeds, oilseed products and non-grain feed ingredients must be extended to the entering countries.
• The EU's ban on U.S. poultry due to the antimicrobial use of chlorinated water during processing will be extended to the new member countries, expanding the harmful impact of that ban.

U.S. agriculture, thus, has a strong interest in a fair and orderly enlargement process. Virtually every sector needs more information in order to protect their rights. Delayed EU disclosure of the new enlargement policies will make it difficult, if not impossible, for the United States to address and resolve access or non-compliance concerns prior to the date of accession. Once accession takes place, and injury to U.S. interests occurs, that injury may be irreparable.

The undersigned accordingly urge the United States to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that the EU's enlargement policies are disclosed by the Commission without further delay and that U.S. trading interests are not compromised by those policies. If it becomes clear that U.S. rights are being impaired by enlargement, we urge the United States to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure prompt and effective remediation.

Thank you for your continued commitment to safeguarding U.S. rights throughout the enlargement process.

Sincerely,