The European Union insists its restrictions on the import of genetically modified foods are both justified and legal under World Trade Organization rules.
The EU reacted swiftly after the United States, supported by Canada, Argentina and Egypt, asked May 14 for WTO consultations over GM restrictions.
A dispute settlement panel could be set up as early as July if the consultations do not produce a compromise by Europe.
“The European Commission regrets this move as legally unwarranted, economically unfounded and politically unhelpful,” the EC said in a statement issued in Brussels.
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Trade commissioner Pascal Lamy said the process for assessing GM products is WTO legal.
“It is clear, transparent and non-discriminatory.”
And while the U.S. and its allies say they are fighting a moratorium imposed by the EU, Lamy said there is no such thing. GM varieties have been approved for import in the past and several new ones are under review, he said.
Since 1998, no new varieties have been approved while officials in Brussels work on new labelling and traceability rules. Critics in North America argue that once implemented, these new requirements on tracing food will simply be another way to maintain the ban on imports.
That is not the way EU politicians, with their GM-skeptical populations, see it. Instead, they insist they are being prudent in “addressing the challenges posed by modern technology of genetic modification.”
Ironically, Canada’s decision to join the challenge came the same week the EU announced plans to try to strengthen trade ties with Canada.
When prime minister Jean Chrétien travels to Athens, Greece, for a May 28 meeting, he will receive a European proposal that agreements be signed to make relations between Canada and the EU closer than between the EU and any other developed country outside Europe.
“Time is ripe to take the longstanding and fruitful EU-Canada trade and investment relationship a step further and work on a new type of bilateral trade and investment enhancement agreement,” Lamy said in a statement.
Details on how the new deal would work have not been spelled out, although European officials say they are not proposing a free trade deal.
Now, the fight over GM approval rules will form an undercurrent of tension during the Athens summit. It will not be the first time.
Since 1998, Chrétien and many of his ministers have complained to European officials and Canadian embassies in Europe have been lobbying for a more open and science-based system for GM assessment and approval.
