Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 9 • Number 13 • 7th August 2009

Canada Drops WTO Complaint over EU Biotech Restrictions

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Canada and the European Union have recently settled an ongoing trade dispute regarding Brussels’ restrictions on imports of genetically modified (GM) products. In exchange for Canada dropping its complaint at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), the EU has agreed to meet two times per year with Canadian authorities to discuss issues relevant to trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The two parties will notify this settlement to the international trade court as a mutually agreed solution.

“The European Community has committed to an ongoing dialogue with Canada on biotechnology that will continue to help improve market access,” Canadian international trade minister Stockwell Day said in a statement. The result is “positive news for Canadian producers,” he added.

Canada, along with the US and Argentina, filed separate complaints with the DSB in May 2003 challenging the EU’s GM import restrictions (see Bridges Trade BioRes 15 May 2003 http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/8830/ and Bridges Trade BioRes 21 Mar 2002 (http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/8716/).

In November 2006, the DSB ruled that the EU’s methods of approving GM imports from 1984 to 2004 were in violation of the WTO’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. Part of the grounds for the WTO decision involved the EU’s ‘suspension of approval’ (in effect, a de facto ban) of GM imports from June 1999 to August 2003 (see Bridges Trade BioRes 7 Mar 2002 http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/9168/).

Following the ruling, the parties agreed to hold technical discussions on biotech-related issues, and they also agreed to a 12-month Reasonable Period of Time (RPT) for implementation of the talks. The initial deadline was set for November 2007, but Canada agreed to extend its RPT twice, first until January 2008, and then until 31 July 2009.

The Canadian complaint focused on canola, as this product had been previously banned by the EU on GMO grounds. The canola issue was resolved in March of this year when Brussels approved the last GM canola seed used by Canadian farmers, according to Trish Jordan, a spokeswoman for Monsanto Canada. Since then, Ottawa has consulted seed producers and farmers regarding the future of the trade complaint.

“All issues for Canadian biotech farmers have essentially been approved,” Jordan told The New York Times. “That should allow the marketing of Canadian canola to Europe.”

Canada and other countries have been lobbying the EU to accept genetically modified food since 1998, but the EU Trade Commission still faces resistance from some of its member states. Surveys also show European consumers are opposed to GMOs due to fears of health risks and the development of herbicide-resistant ‘superweeds’.

Although Brussels has remained firm on its broader GM restrictions, its agreement with Ottawa may suggest that it is prepared to consider GMO products on a case-by-case basis, such as in the case of the July 2004 approval of imports of modified corn by Monsanto (see Bridges Weekly 10 November 2004 http://ictsd.net/i/ip/39594/). The settlement with Canada does not require the EU to modify its policies, but rather to be open to an exchange of information aimed at avoiding barriers to trade.

“The mutually agreed solution with Canada is a clear sign that this type of dialogue works,” EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton told Bloomberg. “I hope we can follow the same constructive approach with Argentina and the United States.”

The EU’s discussions with the US and Argentina are ongoing.

ICTSD reporting; “Canada Settles a Crop Trade Complaint Against Europe,” NEW YORK TIMES, 15 July 2009; “EU and Canada settle WTO case on Genetically Modified Organisms,” EUROPA, 15 July 2009; “EU, Canada Settle WTO Case on Gene-Modified Products (Update2)” BLOOMBERG, 15 July 2000; “EU drops ban on Canadian genetically modified canola,” NATIONAL POST, 15 July 2009.