August 3, 2010

US farmers urge government action over EU's GM restrictions

The American Farm Bureau Federation is calling on the US administration to take a more aggressive stance on trade promotion, particularly targeting what they regard as the EU's unnecessary restrictions on imports of genetically modified (GM) organisms.

The federation, the biggest farm lobby in the US, called upon the US Trade Representative to 'initiate a retaliation proceedings against the EU' in a paper submitted to Washington recently.

It took issue with several sanitary barriers to US exports and said the EU had failed to comply with its WTO obligations to provide for a science-based, timely and predictable process for reviewing agriculture and food biotechnology products.

Alongside the call for action over GM, the paper made reference to a long-running dispute about EU rules banning the sale of hormone-treated meat and a similar prohibition on chlorine-treated chicken.

The US administration has launched a 'National Export Initiative' with the goal of doubling exports and farm produce is seen as a key part of the effort.