6-Regulation: US senators urge WTO case against EU on biotech

[GENET <hmeyer@ngi.de>]

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TITLE:  US senators urge WTO case against EU on biotech
SOURCE: Reuters
DATE:   Dec 23, 2002

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US senators urge WTO case against EU on biotech

WASHINGTON - A group of farm-state senators has urged the Bush 
administration to lodge a formal complaint against the European Union's ban 
on genetically modified foods and other goods.

In a letter to President George W. Bush dated Thursday, the senators 
petitioned for filing a World Trade Organization complaint against the EU, 
saying the ban is costing U.S. farmers hundreds of millions of dollars in 
lost exports.

"We urge you to take that step without delay," the senators, led by 
incoming Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, wrote.

For the past four years, the EU has enforced a moratorium on the approval 
of new biotech products, ranging from agricultural goods to 
pharmaceuticals. The ban stems from widespread consumer fears in Europe 
over the safety of biotech foods. The United States says such products 
present no danger to health.

The United States is a major producer of biotech foods, with about 70 
percent of soybeans and 25 percent of corn grown from genetically modified 
seeds. The biotech company Monsanto hopes to bring to market biotech wheat.

The WTO has ruled illegal the EU's moratorium on new biotech products. 
While the European Commission has been trying to lift that ban, it is 
meeting resistance from some member countries.

U.S. farm and agriculture groups have also urged the Bush administration to 
file a formal complaint with the WTO.

The senators' letter said formal action was needed because there was no 
sign the EU would voluntarily open its market. The moratorium costs the 
United States $300 million annually in lost corn sales, it said.

Bush's Cabinet is expected to debate whether a WTO complaint should be 
filed.

U.S. officials say a formal complaint could create problems, such as 
possible EU retaliation in other trade disputes and a strain in ties with 
Europe at a time when Washington is seeking to build a coalition against 
Iraq.

A U.S. agriculture industry source last week told Reuters the letter from 
the senators was being crafted in part to give the White House additional 
political cover for launching a trade case with the WTO, based in Geneva.

Besides Grassley, an Iowa Republican, the letter to Bush was signed by 
senior Senate Agriculture Committee members.



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