Zoellick says U.S. losing patience with EU over GM food moratorium

Food & Drink Weekly, March 10, 2003

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said March 3 that U.S. patience is running thin in the face of the European Union's failure to lift its moratorium on approvals of genetically modified food products. Zoellick said, however, that he is "eager" to see what progress the European Commission can make in persuading member states of the European Union to lift the moratorium, suggesting that the United States will not move anytime soon to take the dispute to the World Trade Organization. [W]e have tried to hold off [in filing a WTO complaint]," Zoellick said. "But we're getting to the point where the patience is running [to] the end of the string."

He said that the United States wants the EU to lift the moratorium and is working with other countries "to have that happen most expeditiously." Zoellick made his comments after meeting European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy to discuss the GMO dispute and other issues, including the U.S.-EU dispute over U.S. tax breaks for exporters.

The previous week, at a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee, Zoellick said that the Bush administration is still considering whether to launch WTO proceedings against the EU. Other officials said, however, that the United States is leaning against filing a complaint -- at least for the time being -- fearing a serious backlash among European consumers.

Zoellick said at a news conference after meeting Lamy March 3 that the United States and the EU are also at odds over "aspects" of the WTO trade negotiations, particularly agriculture. "We clearly have differences on aspects of the [WTO talks], notably on agriculture," Zoellick said.

Zoellick accused the EU and Japan the week of February 24 of holding up the WTO agriculture talks, saying that the negotiations could become "stuck" if the two WTO members fail to move.

Zoellick said on March 3 that the WTO ministerial meeting scheduled for September in Cancun, Mexico, will be important. He said, however, that the United States and the EU "won't close all the gaps" at the meeting. "That's not the purpose of midterm [WTO] ministerials," Zoellick said.