In 2003, the US, Canada, and Argentina challenged the EU's de facto moratorium on GM crops at the World Trade Organization. The WTO ruled in 2006 that the EU's de facto moratorium was in violation of WTO rules because the EU failed "to apply its own scientific approval procedures to GM products." The US has agreed to give the EU more time to comply with the WTO ruling, a strategy the AFBF supported in hopes that the US and EU would find a solution to the dispute.
Recently, however, the AFBF has urged President Obama to enforce the sanctions against the EU, stating that "US agriculture has suffered substantial damage from the EU's failure to abide by its WTO commitments and this damage will continue to grow as long as the EU does not comply with the WTO ruling."
The EU has struggled with the issue of GM crops and it is a controversial subject among the population. Recently, the EU decided to leave the decision of whether to grow, restrict, or ban GM crops up to each of its 27 member countries. Some, however, are unsure if the new policy will conform to the WTO rules and are concerned that a ban by a single country could invite sanctions to the entire EU bloc. To read a US Ag&Food Law and Policy blog post on this issue, click here.
To read the Reuters story, click here.
Posted: 07/29/2010
