Transatlantic GM Crop Dispute Boils Over at World Trade Organization

GENEVA, Switzerland, August 18, 2003 (ENS) - The United States, Canada, and Argentina today requested the establishment of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel over the European Union's handling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The three countries are the world leaders in the cultivation of genetically modified food crops, and they want the five year de facto EU moratorium on new biotech crop approvals declared illegal under international trade rules.

EU commissioners, who last month finalized new European legislative proposals covering new crop approvals, reacted angrily to the move.

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said, "There should be no doubt that it is not our intention to create trade barriers. But my concern is that this request will muddy the waters of the debate in Europe. We have to create confidence among citizens for GMOs and allow them to choose - and this is what our new legislative framework is designed to do."

She said the European Union stance on GMOs is in line with World Trade Organization rules.

European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy of France (Photo courtesy European Commission)

"The EU's regulatory system for GMOs is clear, transparent, reasonable and nondiscriminatory," said Lamy. "We are confident that the WTO will confirm that the EU fully respects its obligations."

The three complainant countries filed their dispute settlement panel request at a WTO meeting in Geneva today. The request was blocked by the European Union, but under the organization's procedures the panel will be automatically constituted at the next meeting of the dispute settlement body, probably on August 29.

The request for a dispute settlement panel follows the breakdown of conciliation talks between the two sides initiated in June.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said on August 7, “Delegations from the United States, Canada and Argentina consulted in June with EU officials, but the EU indicated no willingness to comply with its WTO obligations by lifting the groundless moratorium on biotech products."

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick (Photo courtesy USTR)

The Commission takes issue with the U.S. allegation that the EU is hindering the great cause of ending hunger in Africa. "A large number of countries suffering a shortage of food have requested main donors of food aid to avoid GM food. As all countries, they have the legitimate right to decide which level of protection they need to prevent unintentional dissemination of GM seeds," the Commission said today.

But that argument did not persuade the Americans. “We have been extremely patient for almost five years,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. “We have had exhaustive discussions with the Europeans and it now is time to let the dispute settlement process work.”

Dispute panels usually take between a year and 18 months to reach a judgement, depending on whether a party appeals against the verdict.

The recent near completion of new EU biotech crop rules makes it possible that the moratorium will be history by the time the WTO panel makes a ruling. A better labeling and traceability framework for GM food and feed was adopted in July. The Commission said today that the new system aims to respond to citizens' demands for more and better information on GMOs, and the need to facilitate the freedom of choice between new and more traditional agrifood products.

The EU system is and will continue to be driven by the concern to ensure a high level of human health protection and appropriate protection for the environment, said the Commission

A number of new applications for the marketing of GMOs in Europe are at an advanced stage of examination and may be granted over the coming months in line with EU legislation.

International environmental organization Friends of the Earth Europe today backed the stance of the European Commission, an institution it has criticized in the past for being in favor of genetically modified crops.

Martin Rocholl, director of Friends of the Earth Europe said, "The U.S. administration, funded by the likes of GMO giant Monsanto, is using the undemocratic and secretive WTO to force feed the world GM foods. Decisions about the food we eat should be made in Europe and not in the White House, the WTO or Monsanto's HQ."

"We welcome the European Commission's commitment to fight this aggressive U.S. policy and ensure that Europe's wildlife and people are protected from the threats of GM crops," Rocholl said.

In its statement today, the European Commission cited an ABC News public opinion survey to claim that Americans want similar GM crop safeguards to those in Europe "by a huge margin."

The ABC News telephone poll of 1,024 adults, released June 19 found that 92 percent of Americans polled support labeling of genetically modified foods, a provision of the new European legislative framework governing GMOs.

Just one-third of the Americans polled by ABC told interviewers that they believe genetically modified foods are safe to eat. Instead, 52 percent believe such foods are unsafe, and an additional 13 percent are unsure about them.

Genetically modified corn (Photo courtesy Monsanto)

In 1996, no U.S. crops were genetically modified, but by 2002, 34 percent of the corn crop and 75 percent of the soya crop were genetically modified. Livestock and poultry are the biggest customers of U.S. corn, eating 58 percent of the nation’s crop in 2002.

U.S. corn farmers estimate that lost sales to Europe stemming from the controversy over GMOs have exceeded $1 billion and continue to climb at a rate of $300 million per year.

The U.S. position before the World Trade Organization on genetically modified foods is the same as that of the National Corn Growers Association, which says in its 2003 position paper that it will "encourage World Trade Organization action against the European Union for their illegal moratorium on the approval process of biotech corn."

The United States accounts for over two-thirds of all biotechnology crops planted worldwide. Genetically modified food crops grown by U.S. farmers include corn, cotton, soybeans, canola, squash, and papaya. Argentina plants primarily biotech soybeans, and Canada's main biotech crop is canola or oilseed rape.

{ENDS Environment Daily contributed to this report.}