Sharply contrasting attitudes to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) continue to dog U.S.-European Union (EU) relations. The EU last week missed a World Trade Organization (WTO) deadline to lift some of its restrictions on GMO imports, entitling the United States, Canada, and Argentina to impose sanctions. However, the United States said yesterday that it would hold off imposing these while talks continued. The omens for agreement are not good, however, with news that the French government is imposing a ban on the only GM crop that is grown in that country. Many countries in the EU insist that GMOs pose health and environmental risks, but the United States accuses them of veiled protectionism. The EU imposed a moratorium on the authorisation of GMOs between 1999 and 2004, but the WTO ruled this illegal after a challenge was lodged by the United States, Canada, and Argentina. The EU has authorised some GMO imports now, but individual countries have maintained bans. The future of the only GM maize strain available in Europe, Mon 810, is particularly controversial. Austria continues to ban its import, and this is the crop that France has now decided to ban the planting of. The United States insists that the Monsanto product has been grown safely around the world for over a decade and that the scientific objections raised by Austria and France are unwarranted.
Significance:GMO crops have rapidly gained ground internationally over recent years, but in Europe there continues to be tough resistance from both governments and consumers. The EU and United States may yet be able to resolve this particular dispute and avoid sanctions, but the wider GMO issue looks set to remain a thorn in relations.Global Insight
