New York Times | By David Leonhardt | June 20, 2003
Washington--Talks between the United States and the European Union over opening up Europe to genetically modified foods broke down in Geneva today, the Bush administration announced, heightening trans-Atlantic tensions.
American officials said they would soon request that the World Trade Organization convene a panel to hear their case, in an effort to end a ban that farm groups say is depriving agricultural businesses of hundreds of billions of dollars a year.
The Bush administration called Europe's policy illegal, saying that scientific research had shown genetically altered crops to be safe. The European Union "denies choices to European consumers," Richard Mills, a spokesman for the United States trade representative, Robert Zoellick, said in a statement today.
European officials said the long-term effects of altered food remained uncertain. They said they were disappointed by the administration's publicizing of the dispute.
The food dispute is one of a handful of trade fights between the United States and Europe and comes as tensions linger over the war in Iraq, which many European countries opposed. Trade officials also continue to haggle over steel tariffs imposed by the Bush administration last year, farm subsidies on both sides of the Atlantic, and an American law that reduces taxes for companies with overseas operations, among other issues.
"There have never been more of these litigations than there are right now," Robert E. Lighthizer, a trade lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Washington, said of the disputes. He said the relationship was "extremely contentious."
American and European officials met in Geneva today for a round of negotiations, known as a consultation, after the United States filed suit at the W.T.O. over the issue last month. Today's announcement means that the trade organization will soon begin selecting a panel of judges to hear the case, although a decision is likely to take months.
Genetically modified food -- which can grow more quickly than traditional crops and can be resistant to insects -- has caused scant controversy in the United States, where people eat it every day. Almost 40 percent of all corn planted in this country in genetically modified.
In Europe, however, the environmental movement is more powerful, and a series of food problems, including mad cow disease, have made people far more skeptical of assurances of safety from governments and businesses. Some food packages there bear the label "GM free," and the initials are well enough known to be used regularly in headlines in British newspapers.
The European Commission has permitted the use of some genetically modified foods, like soybeans, in the last decade, but has effectively placed a moratorium on most new products.
The Bush administration and agricultural businesses view the policy as simple protectionism because American companies, which dominate the biotechnology industry,would benefit most from lifting the ban. Without it, American companies would export about $300 billion more in corn each year than they do now, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Scientific research has generally shown that genetically modified foods do not cause health problems.
"Countries shouldn't be able to erect barriers for nonscientific reasons," Don Lipton, a spokesman for the farm federation, said. "That's a very important principle in international trade."
In a speech last month, President Bush escalated the dispute by saying that Europe's policy was undermining efforts to fight hunger in Africa. African nations, fearing their products would be shunned by Europe, are avoiding developing genetically modified food that might help feed the continent, he said. "European governments should join, not hinder, the great cause of ending hunger in Africa," he said in the speech.
European diplomats reacted angrily to Mr. Bush's comments, saying that their health concerns were serious and noting that European nations spend a greater part of their budget on foreign aid than the United States.
European officials have also said that they are surprised that the United States has highlighted the dispute recently. This summer, the European Parliament is scheduled to consider a measure that would establish strict labeling rules for genetically modified products, which could allow more of them to be sold.
Europe's resistance to modified crops received a political lift last week when a global treaty restricting them was approved. Although it is not clear what effect the treaty, known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, will have on the trade dispute, it is likely to make it easier for countries to restrict importing the crops, trade experts say.
The United States, worried about the treaty's impact on American exporters, agreed only reluctantly to support it when it was negotiated in 2000.
Announcing that the talks between Europe and the United States had broken down today, Mr. Mills, the trade representative's spokesman, said in his statement that he was "disappointed but not surprised."
He added, "We'll be moving forward with requesting a panel" to decide the case.
Willy Helin, a European Commission spokesman, said that European officials had explained their policy fully to the United States delegation today, but that they had expected the dispute to reach the next level.
"This is a first formal step," he said.
Argentine officials, who have joined the United States in filing the W.T.O. case, also attended today's talks, Mr. Helin said.
But other nations that have previously criticized Europe's position, including Egypt, did not, he said.New York Times:
