05 March 2003 U.S. Seeks Partners for WTO Challenge to EU Biotech Moratorium (But USTR Zoellick offers no timetable for filing case) (700) By Berta Gomez Washington File Staff Writer [The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov] Washington -- The Bush administration is working to build an international coalition to help lift the European Union (EU) moratorium on import approvals for foods derived from biotechnology, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick says. "I'm trying to build a coalition" that would join the United States in filing a challenge in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the four-year-old EU moratorium, Zoellick told the Senate Finance Committee March 5. "I don't want this to be just the U.S. versus EU." Zoellick said he did not have a timetable for filing a case but said he hoped action could be taken "soon." U.S. farm and industry groups say the EU moratorium on approvals of new biotech-derived products costs them more than $300 million in annual sales. Some members of Congress have been pressing the Bush administration to initiate action in the WTO, noting that virtually all experts agree that the United States would win the case. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said he was "profoundly disappointed" with the slow pace of action. "I simply can't understand the administration's decision to delay bringing a WTO case against the European Union on biotech policies," he said. The ranking Democrat on the Committee, Max Baucus of Montana, was similarly critical of the administration's decision not to move forward immediately with a WTO challenge to the EU. "I don't know any objective commentator who believes that we would not prevail at the WTO," Baucus said. "And yet the United States is not bringing an action before the WTO. And I, for the life of me, cannot understand why." Zoellick said administration officials agree on the need to lift the EU moratorium "including by bringing the case, if appropriate and necessary." But in an apparent reference to current U.S.-EU tensions over Iraq, he also pointed to the "international context" in which such decisions are made. Moreover, Zoellick said that beyond winning EU compliance on import approvals, he was interested in addressing the larger need to educate the public on the benefits of biotechnology such as higher crop yields, lower pesticide requirements and vitamin-fortified foods. He and other officials have pointed out that confusion over biotechnology is having devastating effects, most notably in the refusal of famine-stricken African countries to accept U.S. food aid that might contain products derived from biotechnology. "I think the bigger issue here is what [the EU moratorium] is blocking in terms of agriculture, not just for us, but for the developing world in terms of nutrition, ways of dealing with the environment more safely, dealing with health and hunger issues," Zoellick said. The U.S. trade representative said he had been encouraged by recent statements made by African scientists meeting in Brussels and by officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum supporting U.S. action against the EU biotech policy. "If and when we bring a case, it shouldn't just be a legal matter," Zoellick said. "What we have to do is win the debate about biotech and world public opinion." On other trade-related issues, Zoellick told senators that the United States was working to help China meet its WTO commitment to make its markets more accessible to agriculture exports. "We want to work it out," he said of China's trade barriers. He added, however, that "we will not hesitate, if need be" to resort to WTO action if Chinese compliance is not forthcoming. Regarding Russia, Zoellick warned that the country could face U.S. trade retaliation if it does not remove import barriers to foreign poultry, beef and pork. "Since they're not a WTO member, there's a full range of options, including Section 301, and they all ought to be on the table," Zoellick said. Section 301 of U.S. trade law provides authority for imposing trade sanctions on foreign countries that either violate trade agreements or otherwise maintain laws or practices that are unjustifiable and restrict U.S. commerce.