archives: WTO InfoIt's done: U.S. Seeks to End EU Biotech Moratorium
friends,
Zoellick is having a press conference on Capitol Hill today to announce that the US is filing a WTO case against the EU GMO ban. Some NGOs are working to organize a press conference this afternoon in DC to get into the news cycle. It would also be good to get a sense from European colleagues on what you all are planning in terms of statements/news conferences/creating public outcry etc. and also what you are hearing from EU officials, the media there and so on. Hopefully we can all do some good work together on this on both sides of the Atlantic.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=U.S. Seeks to End EU Biotech Moratorium
Yahoo! News
Tue, May 13, 2003
7:58 p.m., 1 hour, 13 minutes agoWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, joined by Canada, Argentina and Egypt, will file a World Trade Organization (news - web sites) complaint in hopes of getting the European Union (news - web sites) to lift its 5-year- old ban on new genetically modified products, U.S. officials announced on Tuesday.
The move adds one more irritant to U.S.-European relations, which already are badly frayed by the staunch opposition of France and Germany to the American-led war against Iraq (news - web sites).
A group of nine other countries also announced their support for the WTO complaint.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, announcing the U.S. action, noted the widespread global growth of biotech crops and their benefits.
"We've waited patiently for five years for the EU to follow the WTO rules and the recommendations of the European Commission (news - web sites)," which would speed EU approval of new product, he said.
The United States is a world leader in biotech farm goods, with 75 percent of its soybeans, 34 percent of corn and 71 percent of cotton derived from genetically modified seeds.
In January, the Bush administration seemed poised to announce the WTO case. But a subsequent diplomatic fight with France and Germany over the Iraq war delayed action, congressional sources said at the time.
Nine other countries on Tuesday expressed their support for the WTO complaint. They are Australia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador (news - web sites), Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Uruguay.
The United States has feared that continued problems with the EU over biotech could encourage other countries to adopt their own prohibitions
wto news | wto info | www.agp.org (archives) | www.all4all.org