WTO & Imports of GM to Europe

[Guest guest]

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that the European Union

illegally stopped imports of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

from the US.

The case was instigated by the US, Canada and Argentina, which

brought the complaint before the WTO in May 2003.

 

They said an EU moratorium on GM food crops, in place from 1998 to

2004, was about protectionism, not science.

 

The EU said it needed the block to allow it to gather data and find

out how best to update GMO rules.

 

'Unfair barrier'

 

In a preliminary decision released on Tuesday, the WTO said that the

EU-wide moratorium effectively amounted to a ban, breaking

international trade rules.

 

Our system aims to guarantee the unity of the internal market and

complete safety for human health and the environment

 

European Commission spokesman

 

 

Q & A: GM trade battle

 

The complainant nations say there is no scientific evidence for the

EU action, which was an unfair barrier to producers or exporters of

biotech foods wanting to do business in Europe.

 

The final ruling is due later this year.

 

Two years ago the moratorium was lifted and a modified strain of

sweet corn, grown mainly in the US, was allowed onto the market.

 

But Washington continued with the WTO case because it wanted to be

sure approvals for GMO sales were being decided on scientific rather

than political grounds.

 

'Complete safety'

 

However the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, says there

are now tough but fair laws in place, and that all GMO approvals will

be processed on case-by-case scientific criteria.

 

" Our system aims to guarantee the unity of the internal market and

complete safety for human health and the environment, " a commission

spokesman said.

 

There is a wariness in Europe about GM foods, in comparison to the US

where they are more generally accepted.

 

Biotech crops, including corn and soybeans that have been genetically

modified to resist insects or disease, have been widely grown in the

US for years.