US fails to win transatlantic GM trade dispute1 May 2006
The US has failed in its bid to prevent the European Union (EU) from using strict regulations to control GM food and crops. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has now made a final judgement on this issue.
The US, Canada and Argentina launched a legal challenge against the EU in May 2003. They claimed that Europe's reluctance to embrace GM foods damaged their farmers and was a barrier to trade.
The final WTO report on the dispute has now been sent in secret to the parties involved. It is expected that the conclusions will be the same as in the draft ruling obtained by Friends of the Earth in February.
It is likely to have rejected almost all of the objections raised - even though the US originally claimed victory over Europe.
This means that countries will still be able to put in place strict laws to protect their people and environments from GM.
However, the WTO did rule that Europe's four year GM moratorium - which ended in 2004 - broke trade rules by causing "undue delays".
The WTO also said national GM bans broke trade rules - but only because the risk assessments did not comply with WTO requirements.
The future
It is completely unacceptable that the WTO has the authority to settle such disputes - because it is undemocratic, secretive and biased towards big business.
Friends of the Earth is calling for a fairer and more transparent body to be used in future - one that also takes into account international environmental treaties.
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