US presses ahead with GM food case against Europe

The Bush administration has requested formation of a World Trade Organisation dispute panel as the US pressed ahead with a case against the European Union over genetically modified food.

The formal request for a WTO hearing panel had been expected after the US and its partners in the dispute – Canada and Argentina – had been unable in June to narrow their differences with the EU over a European moratorium on importation of genetically modified crops.

US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said yesterday that the administration had no choice but to proceed with a WTO case in an effort to force the 15-nation EU to accept genetically modified crops produced in the US and other countries.

“This trade barrier harms farmers and consumers around the world by denying them the benefits of productive, nutritious and environmentally friendly biotech products,” Mr Zoellick said in a statement.

The EU imposed the moratorium because of concerns about food safety, which the US contends are not supported by various scientific studies showing that genetically modified food poses no risks to humans.

The EU recently moved to implement a system that would allow consumers to buy genetically modified food that had been clearly labelled. But US farm groups object that the labelling will be cumbersome to implement and is not needed since the food is safe.

Biotech crops, including corn and soybeans genetically modified to resist insects or disease, have been widely grown in the US for years. US farmers say the EU moratorium has cost them $300m (€264m) in lost sales annually of bioengineered corn.

The US first gave notice that it planned to bring a WTO case against the EU in May.

But under WTO rules, any country filing a trade complaint must first engage in informal consultations before making a request for a WTO panel to hear the dispute. The request for formation of a panel triggers a process in which both sides will file briefs and hold oral arguments before the WTO panel rules on the issue.

Since the losing side has the right to appeal, the entire process usually takes about 18 months. If the Bush administration prevails, the EU would either have to allow imports of the modified crops or pay compensation to the US. Barring either of those options, the US and the other countries would be allowed to impose trade sanctions equal to the amount of sales lost because of the moratorium.

“We have been extremely patient with the Europeans for almost five years,” US Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said yesterday. “We have had exhaustive discussions with the Europeans and it is now time to let the dispute settlement process work.”

The Bush administration claim the EU ban on genetically-engineered crops is contributing to starvation in Africa because it has kept African nations from planting genetically-modified crops, even though such crops have higher yields, out of fear of losing European markets.