Themes of the Dispute
The EU Ban on Agricultural Biotech Products Is Illegal

"We have already waited too long to act. The moratorium is illegal and unjustified... the value of biotechnology is poorly appreciated in Europe." — Margot Wallstrom, EU Environment Commissioner, July 13, 2000

• Since the late 1990s, the European Union has pursued policies that undermine the development and use of agricultural biotechnology.
  
  
• In the late 1990s, six member states (Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Luxembourg) banned imports of corn and rapeseed approved by the European Union. Although these actions were a violation of European law, the European Commission refused to challenge the bans.
  
  
• Then, in 1998, member states began blocking EU regulatory approval for new agricultural biotech products.
  
  
• This moratorium effectively prohibits most U.S. corn exports to Europe. In addition to violating EU law, the moratorium clearly breaches World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
  
  
• Specifically, the WTO requires that measures regulating imports be based on "sufficient scientific evidence" and that countries operate regulatory approval procedures without "undue delay."
  
  
• WTO rules do not require automatic approval of biotech foods. At present, however, the EU refuses to grant new approvals. This plainly violates the EU’s WTO obligations.
  
  
• The U.S. simply wants to EU to apply a scientific, rules-based review and approval process to agricultural biotech product applications.
  
  
• The U.S. case is not an attempt to “force” acceptance of biotech foods on European consumers. It is Europe’s actions, without any scientific, health or environmental basis, that deprives consumers of choice.