Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 5 • 17th March 2006
Argentina Asks EU to Intervene on Monsanto Soy Dispute
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Argentinean agriculture officials on 7 March sent a report to the European Commission regarding Monsanto’s filing of three European lawsuits and six stoppages of Argentinean soy shipments to Europe, asking the Commission to conduct an investigation into the actions (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 14 October 2005). Although Monsanto holds patent rights over RoundUp Ready soy in most other countries, the absence of patent coverage in Argentina has meant that farmers in world’s third-largest producer of soybeans do not have to pay royalties to the company (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 22 July 2005). Monsanto has been filing lawsuits in European courts since June 2005, alleging that they deserve to collect royalties on Argentinean exports of soybean to EU countries in which the company has patent protection for its Roundup Ready soybean. Argentinean officials have suggested that delaying of shipments to test for Roundup Ready technology costs importers about EUR 850,000 (about US$1 million) per shipment. “Monsanto’s action is an unjustified obstacle to the legitimate trade of soy meal and an abuse of the company’s dominant market position,” the report says, adding that the company aims to “set a price that is different from market prices for biotech soy meal in Europe”. The Argentinean Agricultural Secretariat has said that with the report, “we hope the EU opens an investigation into Monsanto’s practices to see if they are abusive and monopoly-related. And if that is the case, we hope they will take punitive measures against the company.” Monsanto has offered European importers licenses in return for royalty payments. Argentina exports almost US$2 billion worth of soy meal to Europe every year.
“Argentina asks EU to intervene in dispute with Monsanto,” REUTERS, 8 March 2006; “Argentina seeks EU intervention in soy row with Monsanto,” REUTERS, 24 February 2006.
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