WTO delays ruling on EU's moratorium of GM Food

Food & Drink Weekly, May 23, 2005

A World Trade Organization dispute panel examining a complaint filed by the United States, Argentina, and Canada against the European Union's alleged moratorium on the approval of bioengineered foods has announced a further delay in the issuance of its ruling. Trade officials from the respective countries said they now expected it to be circulated sometime in September, based on the normal delay between the issuance of the preliminary and final rulings.

The co-complainants argue that, since October 1998, the EU has been applying a moratorium on the approval of products containing GMOs without any scientific justification, blocking a number of marketing applications already in the pipeline. The three also accused Austria, France, Greece, and Italy of prohibiting the importation and marketing of GM products, even though those products have already been approved for sale within the EU.

The co-complainants had been waiting to see how the European Commission and EU member states would act on several pending applications for GMO products in the authorization pipeline. In addition, the EU insisted on the appointment of scientific experts to help the panel deal with any technical issues arising from the dispute regarding the safety of genetically modified organisms, something which the panel eventually agreed to. The United States, Argentina, and Canada argued that input from the experts was not necessary and that the opinions of scientific committees under the European Food Safety Authority regarding the safety of GMOs--opinions that have favored the approval of products already in the authorization pipeline--provide sufficient scientific evidence for deciding the case.