Atlantic divides
the World Trade Organization's (wto's) ruling that the European Union (eu) was not justified in blocking imports of genetically modified (gm) crops has created major problems for the international community. A panel set up under the dispute settlement mechanism of the organisation has sided with Canada, Argentina and the us. It has declared that a ban on import of biotech seeds from companies such as Monsanto without "adequate scientific evidence' of their harm is illegal under the trade body's regulations.
While the eu officials maintain that the ruling will not influence their regulations, it's bound to have far-reaching consequences for, or at least have some influence on, the gm policy and trade of countries ranging from India to Japan and Russia. These countries have regulations stipulating labelling and tracing of goods containing biotech ingredients.
The ruling was in response to cases filed by Canada, Argentina and the us in 2003 at wto, after protracted negotiations with the eu . The countries asserted that the eu had violated international trade rules by imposing a moratorium on gm crops between 1998 and 2003. They argued that the eu's logic for the ban was contrary to scientific advice that gm crops posed no health or safety risk. They complained that the eu had set no deadline to lift the moratorium. The three countries also objected to the individual bans imposed by Austria, France, Germany, Greece, and Luxembourg on gm crops that had secured approval of the European Food Safety Agency (efsa). The bans were imposed on a temporary basis using a so-called