The World Trade Organization committee dealing with food safety, animal and plant health, formally known as the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, heard a record number of specific trade concerns when it met in mid-July.
Several members raised concerns about the European Union’s proposed amendment of its approval procedure for genetically modified food and feed, also known as biotech products. The United States said that the amendment would allow EU member states to restrict or ban the use of such products with no justified reasons. Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Canada raised similar concerns, stating that the proposed revision would create unnecessary barriers to international trade.
The Committee also discussed China’s proposed regulatory change related to biotech products. China recently notified the WTO about the proposed amendments of its safety assessment of agricultural genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
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Paraguay and the United States welcomed China’s notification, but noted the negative impact such a regulatory procedure could have on international trade. According to the United States, the delays and lack of transparency in China’s current biotech approval process remain a serious trade concern for exporters, and the proposed amendment could further prolong and complicate the approval process. In response, China said that the draft revision aims to enhance the safety assessment of agricultural GMOs, and invited WTO members to comment on the proposed revision.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: WTO members raise record number of trade concerns
