Many new genetically engineered crop traits would be exempt from regulation by the Agriculture Department under a sweeping rewrite of its rules for testing and assessing the products.

The latest overhaul plan is the third such proposal released by USDA since 2008 and is aimed at streamlining and reducing the cost of the development of new crop traits.

Under the new proposed rule, modified plants would be exempted from regulation because they could be produced through traditional breeding techniques, making them unlikely to pose a greater plant pest risk than conventionally bred crops.

The rule would also allow crop developers to make a “self-determination” that their crops are exempt from regulation ….

Read full, original article: USDA proposes to ease biotech regulation