Congress steps up pressure on Bush administration to take action against the EU's GMO moratorium

Food & Drink Weekly, Feb 3, 2003

The chairman of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee on January 27 separately urged WTO action against the European Union for its position on genetically modified organisms. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) called "outrageous" alleged EU pressure on African nations not to accept U.S. food aid when the food has been genetically modified. While Thomas acknowledged that was not yet a "smoking gun" that proved the Europeans had applied such pressure, he indicated he was reviewing the issue. He hinted that Zambia might be able to provide some evidence.

Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) also urged the Bush administration to launch a WTO challenge against Europe's current policy. "I would like our interagency people...to get off their duffs and decide we are going to the WTO," Grassley told a meeting of Consumers for World Trade. Grassley favors a dispute settlement case.

The interagency committee meeting previously scheduled for January 30 regarding the possible trade complaint against the moratorium will take now place February 3 or February 4.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick publicly has supported launching a dispute settlement action via the World Trade Organization. However, some State Department officials have expressed some reservations about the long-term impact any dispute case would have on sales of U.S. biotech products in Europe. EU Agriculture ministers from some member states said that no new approvals should be granted until traceability and labeling regulations are in place, according to a European Commission summary of the Jan. 27-28 Agriculture Council meeting.

The Bush administration will likely announce its intent to initiate a case against the EU. If so, consultations between the U.S. and EU would ensue. The Bush administration would have to decide whether to initiate a WTO panel ruling should consultation talks not settle the matter. Of note is a February 3-5 visit to Washington by EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler, who is scheduled to meet with both Zoellick and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.