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U.S. files a gripe over biotech banBy Associated Press,© St. Petersburg Times published May 14, 2003 WASHINGTON - Escalating a dispute with Europe over its moratorium on genetically modified foods, the United States filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization Tuesday arguing that Europeans are ignoring studies showing the foods do no harm. The case means the United States and other countries that signed the complaint - Argentina, Canada and Egypt - will have 60 days to work with the Europeans to find a solution. But U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said that if the moratorium isn't lifted, the United States will ask the WTO to form a panel to resolve the complaint. The European Union never officially declared that it was blocking genetically modified products. Countries simply stopped accepting applications from exporters wanting to sell them. They were under pressure from consumers who worry biotech food is unsafe and should be labeled. Per Pinstrup-Andersen, a biotech expert at Cornell University, says the move could compound already-tense relations between the United States and Europe. Many U.S. farmers plant soybeans and corn genetically designed to tolerate a Monsanto herbicide, Roundup. Lawmakers and farm groups argue that the moratorium has cost millions of dollars in U.S. corn exports, but Pinstrup-Andersen said it's politics, not economics, driving the decision to take the case to the WTO. Still, losses could end up in the billions if the European Union decides to retaliate and impose $4-billion in sanctions, said Robert Paarlberg, an associate at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.  © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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