June 20, 2016

 

USSEC: Lack of EU regulatory decision impacts US soy and agriculture

 

 

The US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) is disappointed by the European Commission's failure to authorise biotech soybean events within a reasonable amount of time and is committed to try to help move the process forward, the body says.

 

USSEC is organising two separate delegations to Brussels, Belgium, over the next couple of weeks which will have US farmers as well as those from other countries meeting with EU officials to encourage them to move the approval process forward. USSEC staff organised numerous meetings with EU officials and industry members to take place during these missions. 

 

USSEC's vice chairman Jim Miller is counting on the delegations to be successful: "My fellow farmers and I need access to the latest technology in order to produce as efficiently as possible to feed the growing world's demand. I'm worried that if approval is made difficult by governments like the EU that our access to new technology will diminish," Miller stated. "This would be a bad thing for all growers initially and then all consumers around the world as (agriculture) supplies tighten."

 

USSEC represents the interests of US soybean producers, commodity shippers, merchandisers, allied agribusinesses and agricultural organisations in international markets. A key focus of the organisation is international market access issues such as biotech approvals.

 

Since January 2016, USSEC has been very active on behalf of the US soy industry to encourage appropriate European officials to demonstrate their functional regulatory procedures by approving for import the three soybean traits awaiting final action by the European Commission. These three products, which were developed by Bayer and Monsanto, have successfully moved through all required evaluations and have received a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as well as completing the committee process within the European Commission. Over the past five months, USSEC has been told by representatives of the European Commission that draft authorising decisions are at the final stage of the procedure and approval would proceed in line with the European Commission's pledge to authorise those biotech events, which have received positive EFSA opinions within a reasonable timeline. However, this approval has not yet been received.

 

In January 2016, the European ombudsman found that the European Commission was guilty of "maladministration" from 2012 to 2014 due to the commission's delay in final authorisation of biotech events exceeding 3.5 months. By this yardstick, the European Commission is allegedly guilty of maladministration by failing to authorise these three products.

 

Engagement with the European Commission is regular and ongoing. On June 7, USSEC once again formally called for the European Commission to issue final authorisation for the soybean traits in a letter sent to leaders there. This was the third such written communication conducted this spring, according to USSEC.

 

Jim Sutter, USSEC's CEO, said: "Monitoring all of the issues in this space is time consuming but critical - we need to stick to our principles and continue to communicate for as long as it takes."

 

In a white paper developed by USSEC and the other members of the International Soy Growers Alliance (an alliance of growers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Paraguay, Uruguay and the US) in 2015, it was stated that delays in approvals of new biotech events has the potential to cost consumers and producers of soybeans collectively US$19 billion over the next ten years.

 

USSEC is taking the long view in trying to work with industry and governments to improve understanding and approval processes so as to minimise this additional cost in the future. USSEC is focused on trying to help the approval process work so that the efficiencies of the agriculture trading system can be left to operate normally. All parties involved benefit from the lack of potential for trade disruptions due to the presence of unapproved varieties.

 

Sutter states, "USSEC's goal is to differentiate and build preference for US soy while also ensuring market access for the grain. We work with many partners and we talk about the need to provide choice and to allow US growers the freedom to operate… a nice upward trend in overall US soy exports gives us confidence that our efforts are paying off."

 

On behalf of US soybean farmers and the industry, Miller calls for action by the EU Commission. "The unexpected delay in final authorizations has created uncertainty, disruption and cost for the US soy industry. In order to avoid greater interference in trade, the authorisations must occur very soon," he said. "While the sort of work conducted by USSEC may be frustrating and slow, it is of critical importance and really makes a difference for US soybean farmers and the US soy industry."

 

-USSEC