Dow Jones | December 2, 1999
CHICAGO - After two days of dodging protesters, agriculture negotiators at the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle have made some headway on the volatile issue of genetically-modified crops, U.S. grain industry officials told reporters in a conference call Thursday.
It is possible, participants added, that some sort of document laying out the framework of future agriculture talks can be agreed on at the Seattle meetings.
In what seems a slight softening in the European Union's stance on genetically-modified crops, The European Commission circulated a document at the meetings saying it may agree to form a working group to discuss biotech issues, said Doug Robinson, chairman of the board of the U.S. Grains Council, the Washington trade group that sponsored the conference call.
Most of the focus during the call centered on trade relations between the U.S. and the E.U., which frequently clash on biotech crops and export subsidies.
The U.S. produces about one-third of its corn and half of its soybeans from genetically-modified seeds. Many in the E.U. question the health and safety of foods made from biotech crops, and have put a hold on corn imports from the U.S. until scientific studies of new U.S. genetic varieties are completed.
It isn't clear exactly how the working group would function, nor who would sit on it. According to Robinson, the E.U. wants the group to look at a broad scope of issues, including some that aren't food-related, such as biotech medicine.
"But we just want it to focus on biotech crops," Robinson said.
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