EU's Fischler says US delays WTO biotech case
Date: 07-Feb-03
Country: USA
Author: Doug Palmer and Richard Cowan
The trade dispute comes at an especially delicate moment in U.S.-EU relations, when Washington is soliciting support from European nations for a potential military strike against Iraq.
Fischler told reporters that Undersecretary of State Alan Larson told him the Bush administration had decided against initiating a case for now.
"It was clear for the time being they would not take action," Fischler said after his private meeting with Larson.
However, U.S. officials left open that possibility if the EU did not move to lift its moratorium, Fischler said.
A State Department spokesman denied Larson had relayed such information to Fischler. "The undersecretary did not address the timing of a WTO case," the spokesman said.
Reading a prepared statement, the spokesman said, "In his meeting with Commissioner Fischler, Undersecretary Larson underscored the reasons why the administration, leaders of Congress and our agriculture community believe the European Union must lift its moratorium on biotech products."
Fischler told reporters, "(U.S. Trade Representative) Bob Zoellick and (U.S. Agriculture Secretary) Ann Veneman warned us that they will take action if we are not able to deliver."
Farm groups and influential lawmakers have urged the Bush administration to seek a World Trade Organization ruling on the European Union's four-year-old moratorium on approval of genetically modified products. They say it costs U.S. farmers $300 million a year in sales.
The ban reflects European consumers' concerns about the potential long-term impacts of gene-spliced foods on human health and the environment. The U.S. government says biotech crops pose no new risks.
A U.S. congressional source, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that the State Department intervened to put off the filing of a WTO complaint. The reason, the source said, was to avoid creating a new rift with its European allies as the United States edged closer to war with Iraq.
The source questioned the tactic, saying eight EU leaders already have indicated they would stand with the United States if it attacked Iraq.
CABINET MEETING POSTPONED
In recent weeks, U.S. agriculture industry officials and some members of Congress have expressed impatience not with the EU, but with the Bush administration for its slowness in deciding whether to file a WTO complaint.
An expected Cabinet-level meeting on Monday to discuss the issue was called off. A new date has not been set, said one trade lobbyist.
For a number of weeks, Bush administration officials have mentioned EU concerns about a possible U.S.-led war in Iraq as one factor in their decision on whether to bring a WTO case.
The New York Times this week reported the administration decided against bringing a case for now. It quoted an unidentified official who said: "There is no point in testing Europeans on food while they are being tested on Iraq."
Fischler said Larson confirmed that the United States would wait a while longer before pressing forward with any WTO case.
"I think this is the right decision because to take action at the moment would really make our ambition and our action to sort out this problem much more difficult," he said.
Fischler said the European Commission, the EU's executive body, has already begun steps to lift the moratorium. It would be more difficult for the commission to persuade five reluctant EU member states to go along with that if the United States launched a WTO case, he said.
Fischler said he delivered the same message to Zoellick and Veneman when he met with them on Tuesday.
WHITE HOUSE ROLE?
Meanwhile, after weeks of saying a Cabinet-level meeting was needed to decide whether to file a WTO case, some U.S. officials this week said the matter was now in the hands of the White House.
One U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, was asked by Reuters whether the Bush administration had decided not to file a case against the EU. He r
