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| http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4688686.stm
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that the European Union illegally
stopped imports of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from the US.
The case was instigated by the US, Canada and Argentina, which brought the
complaint before the WTO in May 2003.
They said an EU moratorium on GM food crops, in place from 1998 to 2004, was
about protectionism, not science.
The EU said it needed the block to allow it to gather biotech data and find out
how best to update GMO rules.
'Unfair barrier'
In a preliminary decision released on Tuesday, the WTO said that the EU-wide
moratorium effectively amounted to a ban, breaking international trade rules.
The complainant nations say there is no scientific evidence for the EU action,
which was an unfair barrier to producers of exporters of biotech foods wanting
to do business in Europe.
The final ruling is due later this year.
Two years ago the moratorium was lifted and a modified strain of sweetcorn,
grown mainly in the US, was allowed onto the market.
But Washington continued with the WTO case because it wanted to be sure
approvals for GMO sales were being decided on scientific rather than political
grounds.
'Complete safety'
However the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, says there are now
tough but fair laws in place, and that all GMO approvals will be processed on a
case-by-case scientific criteria.
"Our system aims to guarantee the unity of the internal market and complete
safety for human health and the environment," a commission spokesman said.
There is a wariness in Europe about GMO foods, in comparison to the US where
they are more generally accepted.
Biotech crops, including corn and soybeans that have been genetically modified
to resist insects or disease, have been widely grown in the US for years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4688686.stm
Where the report says "wariness", what it actually means is that we all think
that you can shove genetically modified crops where the sun don't shine, and
people keep burning all the crops.
Alan
"Can't you see we're still here,
Can't you see we're still here,
Singing loud; Singing clear,
We shall not go under,
We're still here."
Nemesis Peace Centre
http://www.veloceraptor.free-online.../protector.html
Abuse of Women and Children
http://theoriginalfirebird.blogspot.com/
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http://lordcerneabbas.blogspot.com/
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http://lordcerneabbastoo.blogspot.com/
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