Fwd: WTO agrees to rule on US case against EU

August 31, 2003

" News Update from The Campaign "

WTO agrees to rule on US case against EU

Sat, 30 Aug 2003 19:00:39 -0500

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

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Dear News Update Subscribers,

In May, the United States filed a World Trade Organization (WTO) case

against the European Union (EU) over its moratorium on genetically

engineered foods.

On Friday, the WTO agreed to rule on this case. It is expected to take

from 12 to 18 months before a ruling is made.

Posted below are four articles. The first is brief article from Reuters

titled " WTO launches probe into EU biotech policy. " The second is an

in-depth article from Bloomberg News titled " WTO to rule on GMO ban. "

The third short article is from the BBC (British Broadcasting Company)

titled " WTO to probe Europe's GMO policy. "

MONSANTO'S WTO INFLUENCE

The fourth article is a press release from Friends of the Earth in

the United Kingdom. It expresses concern over the fact that one of the

four Deputy Directors-General of the WTO, Rufus H. Yerxa, used to work

for Monsanto. In 1998 Yerxa was hired by Monsanto as their European

General Counsel and later as their International Counsel.

Friends of the Earth wrote to the WTO Director General, Dr Supachai

Panitchpakdi, asking him to guarantee that Rufus Yerxa will not be

involved in deciding the ruling on this case.

If Rufus H. Yerxa is involved in the decision making process, or able to

influence the outcome of this case in any significant way, it will

further erode the credibility of the WTO.

WTO CASE ON LABELING NEXT?

Even if the U.S. is successful in getting the WTO to rule the EU

moratorium is illegal, European citizens will not buy foods that are

labeled as containing genetically engineered ingredients. And all the

major EU grocery chains have already announced they will not stock

genetically engineered foods.

As a result, there is a great deal of speculation that the U.S. will

soon file a separate WTO case against the European Union charging that

their new comprehensive mandatory labeling laws on genetically

engineered foods are an illegal trade barrier.

It seems the biotech industry can only successfully sell genetically

engineered foods if the public doesn't know they are eating them.

Craig Winters

Executive Director

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

Fax: 603-825-5841

E-mail: label

Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org

Mission Statement: " To create a national grassroots consumer campaign

for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass

legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered

foods in the United States. "

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WTO launches probe into EU biotech policy

GENEVA, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Friday

launched a probe into the European Union's refusal to accept most

genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which Washington says violates

trading rules, trade officials said.

The United States, backed by Canada and Argentina, says that the

Europeans, who have not allowed new genetically modified crops to be

imported or grown in the EU's 15 member states since 1998, have shown no

willingness to end the embargo.

But the EU denies that it is in breach of WTO rules. The investigation,

which will begin with a ruling by a panel of three trade judges, could

take up to 18 months.

" The panel has been set up, " a trade official said.

Last month, EU farm ministers approved a labelling programme for biotech

food and animal feed which was seen as an important step towards lifting

the moratorium.

Washington says that there is no scientific evidence pointing to human

health or environmental problems related to biotech products and argues

that the EU programme is not sufficient.

08/29/03 06:56 ET

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WTO to rule on GMO ban

By WARREN GILES

Bloomberg News

Saturday, Aug. 30, 2003

The World Trade Organization has agreed to rule whether a European Union

ban on new genetically engineered crops is illegal, following a

complaint by the United States, Canada and Argentina.

The world's three biggest growers of gene-modified seeds asked the trade

arbiter to order the EU to lift a ban on approving crop varieties that a

French-led group of six countries put up in 1998. The EU says the

barrier will disappear with new laws requiring that products with

so-called genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, will be labelled and

traced through the food chain.

The U.S. fears that countries such as Brazil and Zambia are using the

EU's restriction to justify prohibitions on the crops, undermining

markets for gene-modified seeds produced by companies including Monsanto

Co., Dow Chemical Co. and Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a unit of

DuPont Co.

" There is no technical or scientific backing for Europe's decision on

gene-altered crops, " said Gustavo Idigoras, national director for farm

markets at Argentina's agriculture ministry in Buenos Aires. " It is not

a health issue. It's basically a problem because of consumer concerns

due to deficient communication from the European authorities. "

The EU says labelling laws it approved last month make the case at the

WTO irrelevant. Both the Grocery Manufacturers of America, whose members

include General Mills Inc., and the American Farm Bureau, the largest

U.S. farm organization, describe the new rules as another trade barrier

and called on the Bush administration to challenge those regulations

too.

The United States says it's examining the new labelling legislation,

which takes effect early next year, and may lodge another challenge at

the Geneva-based WTO.

" We regret the move to unnecessary litigation, " said Arancha Gonzalez, a

spokeswoman for the European Commission in Brussels. " Our system to

approve GMOs is clear, transparent and nondiscriminatory, and therefore

we see no issue the WTO needs to look at. We are confident the WTO will

confirm that the EU fully respects its WTO obligations. "

A trade ruling will address only the legality of the ban, not the safety

of GMOs. The crops are produced through artificial insertion of genetic

material from other organisms, including bacteria.

" This dispute is not about levels of protection or risks, " said Sergio

Marchi, Canada's ambassador to the WTO. " This dispute is about the EC's

failure to apply its own approvals procedure for pending biotech product

applications and about bans imposed by EC member states on products that

have already been approved as safe by the EC. "

WTO arbitrators can take as long as 12 months to deliver a ruling. That

timetable may be prolonged by a maximum of three months if one of the

parties appeals.

More than 70 per cent of Europeans say they won't eat genetically

modified foods, even if they are cheaper, according to a December, 2001,

survey by the EU. They oppose foods derived from the technology because

of fears about the implications for health, as well as their effect on

the environment.

Still, the EU has threatened to take the six nations opposed to

gene-engineered varieties -- France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg

and Greece -- to court to press them to approve new biotech foods. About

60 per cent of all packaged foods in the United States contain

soybean-derived ingredients, many of which are genetically modified. The

main soybean suppliers are U.S. companies.

Separately, the EU blocked a U.S.-Australian appeal to the WTO to

overturn the 15-nation bloc's rules protecting the names of foods and

drinks from particular regions, such as parmesan cheese and kalamata

olives. Upon a second request, the WTO will automatically agree to set

up a panel to rule on the case.

The Bush administration objects to EU rules that prohibit labelling a

cheese as " feta " if it isn't made in Greece, or calling a beer not from

Newcastle, England a " Newcastle Brown Ale. "

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WTO to probe Europe's GMO policy

BBC NEWS

2003/08/29 12:21:20 GMT

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has agreed to examine complaints

about European restrictions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs),

trade officials in Geneva have said.

The complaints - made by the US and backed by Canada and Argentina -

argue that European Union (EU) policy on GMOs violates world trade

rules.

Since 1998, the EU has not allowed new genetically modified crops to be

imported or grown in the 15 EU states.

The EU has denied breaking trade rules.

Change of plan

Nothing is likely to come of the investigation for at least 18 months,

the probable length of the three-judge inquiry.

In the meantime, the EU's new policy on GMO-related labelling should

have time to bed down.

EU farm ministers agreed last month to move from a blanket ban to a

stringent system of labelling when GM ingredients are used either in

foodstuffs for human consumption or in animal feed.

But the US says that will still discriminate against its farmers, given

the much more widespread use of GMOs in US agriculture.

The vast majority of US soy, for example, is GM.

The US insists that there is no scientific evidence proving damage to

either human health or the environment, and that the EU's " precautionary

principle " goes too far.

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Friends of the Earth Press Release

EMBARGOED UNTIL 29 August 2003 00.01 hrs

US-EU GM TRADE WAR TO GET GREEN LIGHT

WTO told to clear out vested interests

Friends of the Earth has called on the head of the World Trade

Organisation to " purge the organisation of vested interests " ahead of

the transatlantic trade war on genetically modified (GM) foods and

crops. The WTO is likely to give the go ahead to the EU-US dispute at a

meeting today (Friday 29 August) in Geneva (1).

With less then two weeks to the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun,

the trade dispute is likely to become one of its most controversial and

high-profile cases in the trade body's history.

Friends of the Earth is particularly concerned about the role of the

Deputy Director-General, Rufus Yerxa. Previous to this post Yerxa worked

for the GM giant Monsanto as European General Counsel and later as

International Counsel. His remit in the WTO covers Rules, Legal Affairs

and Media Relations. (2) Monsanto, who also finance the Bush

Administration, seek to benefit enormously should GM crops be accepted

world-wide. Friends of the Earth has written to the WTO Director

General, Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, asking him to guarantee that Yerxa,

or anyone else connected to the biotech industry, will not play any role

in this controversial dispute.

Alexandra Wandel, trade campaigner of Friends of the Earth Europe said:

" This trade dispute has Monsanto's finger prints all over it. The WTO

needs to give the public rock-solid guarantees that it is free of

corporate interests. Monsanto's influence over past US Administrations

is no secret but the impression here is that they have also penetrated

the WTO itself. The WTO must purge itself of any such vested interests. "

Contacts:

Liana Stupples, Policy and Campaigns Director, Friends of the Earth

England Wales and Northern Ireland 07785 365 178 Adrian Bebb;

biotechnology expert: tel: ++49 8166 992 4 56 (m) Alexandra Wandel,

trade campaigner, tel. ++ 32 2 542 01 89

Notes

1. At a Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting today (29 August) in

Geneva the US request to establish a panel on the EU's moratorium on

GMOs is on the agenda. After the EU rejected the request at the last DSB

meeting on 18 August, under the dispute settlement procedures of the WTO

the panel will be established automatically at the following meeting.

Canada and Argentina have also requested a panel hearing.

(2) See http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres02_e/pr309_e.htm

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August 31, 2003