| - European
Union (EU) Enacted New Regulations Against the Biotech Foods.
- EU
Moratorium on Biotech Foods, Not Based on Scientific Evidence, Has Resulted in
Lost Export Markets for U.S. Agricultural Producers Valued at $ 300 Million Annually.
- Please, Urge
the White House and U.S. Trade Representative to Take Immediate Actions to Initiate
a WTO Case Against the EU Moratorium.
The
EU Council of Agriculture Ministers adopted a proposal that would require products
to be labeled as genetically modified if they contain 0.9 percent of biotech material.
The Council of Environment Ministers also adopted traceability requirements that
will require complete segregation of biotech and non-biotech products, which is
virtually impossible. The
EU moratorium on biotech foods already has been in place for four years and has
cost the United States $300 million annually in lost sales. Other countries that
fear of losing agricultural sales to Europe are adopting policies similar to the
EU's and are beginning to restrict U.S. exports. Distrust
on biotech foods has been derived from the safety concerns. However, many regulators
and medical experts say that there is no scientific evidence that the biotech
foods are less safe than foods produced through traditional breeding. Even European
Commission has officially acknowledged the safety of biotech products. Read
more As some southern African countries in the midst of famine recently rejected
U.S. food aid because it included genetically modified grain the State Department
announced that biotech foods are safe for Americans and Africans. Read
more Moreover,
EU ban on biotech foods is a violation of WTO rules of international trade. In
an effort to ensure consumer safety, the WTO established the Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) that allows countries
to set their own standards regarding food safety of imported products. However,
the SPS agreement clearly states that standards set must be based on scientific
evidence. The
National Grange policy on this issue is that it supports a federal policy to allow
the use of biotechnology in agriculture and does not approve of using inspections,
grading, health, and sanitary or labeling standards as non-tariff barriers to
trade. The
National Grange and 57 other agricultural groups sent a coalition letter to Mr.
Robert Zoellick, U.S. Trade Representative to express concerns regarding the EU
bans on US biotech meat. The National Grange also created an article, "EU
Beef Ban Violation of WTO Agreement" for the December View from the Hill.
Action
Plan --- Please send a letter/email/fax and make a phone call to the White
House and U.S. Trade Representative to urge the fight over the EU moratorium on
biotech foods by initiating a dispute settlement case within the WTO against EU
moratorium. Contact information is following; The
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone:
202-456-1111 (Comments)
202-456-1414 (Switchboard)
Fax: 202-456-2461
Email: President George W. Bush
Vice President Richard
Cheney
Robert B. Zoellick
U.S. Trade Representative
600 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20508
Phone: 202-395-4510
If
you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst
Chil-Sook Hwang by fax: 202-347-1091
or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank you for your grassroots participation
in the National Grange Legislative program. Want
to Subscribe To  ? For
all subscription and circulation inquiries, Contact: Jonathan
Hill. | 
