US farm groups seek WTO action on EU biotech ban
Date: 14-Nov-02
Country: USA
Despite passing legislation last month aimed at ending its ban, EU members indicated they would not accept most genetically modified food until additional rules on labeling were in place.
As the world's largest producer of biotech crops, the United States has demanded an immediate lifting of the moratorium, saying it was illegal under international law.
In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, the farm groups said the Bush administration should "engage the EU in a WTO dispute settlement proceeding" immediately.
"The United States has exercised considerable patience as the EU grapples with this internally sensitive political issue," the letter said. "But the continuing failure of the EU to move toward resolution should end U.S. patience."
Last week, Zoellick told reporters "time will tell" if the U.S. will seek WTO intervention.
A U.S. official this week said he did not know when a decision would be made on whether a WTO complaint would be filed. "It's something that we're certainly looking at," the official said, adding, "We have do our homework to see what the case would be and how strong it is."
Bioengineered foods are widely viewed with suspicion among EU consumers, especially in France, Italy, Denmark, Luxembourg and Greece. These countries are pushing for further rules to ensure biotech products were clearly labeled and could be traced back to the farm where they were grown.
The U.S. agriculture industry opposes any such legislation.
"As currently drafted, the regulations would impose scientifically unjustified, infeasible and costly labeling and traceability burdens on exports of biotech products to the EU," the letter said.
U.S. farm groups signing the letter include the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association.
Earlier this year, U.S. government and industry officials left open the possibility of a WTO challenge to the EU biotech restrictions. But at the time, they noted the months or years it would take to mount a legal challenge and were holding out hope that the EU would lift the moratorium this fall.
In recent weeks, with little evidence the EU would act promptly, talk of a WTO challenge has been resurfacing in Washington.
