Transatlantic trade rift over GMOs deepens
Environment Daily 1495, 18/08/03


The simmering transatlantic stand-off over genetically modified
agriculture deepened today as the United States, Canada and Argentina
formally requested creation of a world trade organisation (WTO) dispute
settlement panel.  The three countries are leaders in GM cultivation.
They want the five-year de facto EU moratorium on new biotech crop
approvals ruled illegal under international trade rules.

EU commissioners reacted angrily to the development.  Trade chief
Pascal Lamy regretted the resort to "unnecessary litigation".
Environment commissioner Margot Wallström said it would "muddy the
waters" of the debate on GM within the EU.  "There should be no doubt
it is not our intention to create trade barriers," she said.

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

The trio's move follows the breakdown of conciliation talks between
the two sides initiated in May (ED 13/05/03
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=14421)
.
Dispute panels usually take between a year and eighteen 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.  But US trade representative Robert Zoellick said he
had been left with "no choice but to proceed with the panel" after the
EU showed "no willingness" to lift its moratorium.

Campaign group Friends of the Earth today backed the Commission's
stand - ironically an institution it has criticised in the past for
being too pro-GM.  In its statement today the Commission cited a news
poll to claim that Americans wanted similar GM crop safeguards to those
in Europe "by a huge margin".

Follow-up: WTO http://www.wto.org/, tel: +41 22 739 5111, and dispute
procedure
pages http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_e.htm;
European Commission http://europa.eu.int/comm, tel: +32 2 299 1111, and
press release
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/0
3/1165|0|RAPID&lg=en&display=;
US Trade Representative http://www.ustr.gov/, tel: +1 202 395 3063 and
press release http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2003/08/03-54.htm;  Friends
of the Earth Europe http://www.foeeurope.org/, tel: +32 2 542 0180,
plus press release
http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2003/AW_18_Aug_GMO_trade_war.htm.