The top American agriculture official on Tuesday called onย the European Union to do more to ease restrictions on gene-altered foodย and feed crops if it hoped to reach a trans-Atlantic trade pact.
โThere canโt be a trade agreement without a serious and significantย commitment to agriculture,โ the official, Agriculture Secretary Tomย Vilsack, told reporters on Tuesday, a day after an informal meeting withย European farm ministers. European consumers โought to have a choiceโย whether to use biotech foods, he said.
Negotiators are trying to reach a Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investmentย Partnership, an agreement that goes far beyond cutting import duties byย creating a more uniform market and by synchronizing regulations forย products like automobiles and medicines. But after five rounds ofย meetings, the negotiators are at odds in important areas, including how toย lower tariffs, whether to include financial services in any deal, and how toย create freer trade in food and farming.
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