Dow Jones | November 9, 1999
WASHINGTON - Isi Siddiqui, special trade advisor to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, was cited as saying that the U.S. is prepared to ask the World Trade Organization to resolve its dispute with the European Union over gene-modified crop approvals if the two sides can't come to agreement on their own, adding, "We need a solution and relief now on GMOs."
Siddiqui stated that the U.S. would prefer to come to a resolution within the next few months, rather than prolong the negotiations for years with the working group, but the U.S. is losing $200 million each year in corn exports to Spain and Portugal because of delays in the E.U. approval process for gene-modified crops, adding, "Our immediate concern is to get a resolution to this. This is a timely issue."
