WTO further delays decision on GM trade dispute1 January 2006
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has again put back the date of its ruling on the US-EU trade dispute over GM food imports.
The dispute - led by the US who claim the EU's national GM bans are a barrier to free trade and are illegal under WTO rules - was first lodged in May 2003.
The WTO-set date for its initial ruling, 5 January 2006, is the latest in a series of dates which have been set and then postponed in the last year.
WTO members, the bio-tech industry, and NGOs are all keenly interested in the initial ruling since in the WTO's 11 year history, initial rulings have rarely differed from final rulings, issued some time later.
A former WTO chief has recently suggested that the ruling will favour the US - a decision which would prove unpopular with the EU public.
More than 740 organisations representing 60 million people world-wide have objected to the US attempt to override other countries' right to say no to GM food.
Meena Raman, Alejandro Jara, Vandana Shiva, Susan Georges, Jose Bove, and Caroline Lucas at the signature presentation
Individuals' protest signatures were handed over to the WTO's Deputy Director General, Alejandro Jara, during the WTO's Hong Kong Ministerial on 14 December 2005.
Presenting the objections were:
- Vandana Shiva - Indian ecologist
- Susan Georges - French activist
- Jose Bove - French farmer
- Caroline Lucas - British Green Party MEP
along with Friends of the Earth International's Chair, Meena Raman.
Friends of the Earth International adds its message to the many directed at the WTO on Hong Kong's streets
image © Friends of the Earth International
The "WTO hands off our food" message was also taken to the streets of Hong Kong by Friends of the Earth International, who participated in civil society demonstrations during the WTO Ministerial.
Thai farmers in a sit-down WTO protest in Hong Kong
image © Eyepress
Many farmers, who have experienced first-hand the effects of WTO policies, travelled to Hong Kong to protest outside the Ministerial Conference centre.
They are angry at the WTO's rules on agriculture which threaten their livelihoods.
Korean farmers demonstrate in front of riot police at the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial
image © Dong Ng
In line with the WTO's traditional secrecy, the initial ruling on the GM trade dispute will not be released to the public.
Instead, the countries involved in the dispute will get a chance to comment on the initial ruling before the final ruling is made.
© Friends of the Earth International
