European Union officials have accused the United States of attempting to skew public opinion on genetically modified crops by leaking a secret report on an alleged illegal blockade of imports.
The row, over one of the most complex cases ever heard by the World Trade Organisation, has placed relations between the EU and the US under renewed strain, with acrimonious briefings and counter briefings breaking out from officials on both sides.
An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Times Online: “This is the confidential Interim Report, not yet the final decision which is expected in April ... we regret that others have chosen to break that confidentiality and speak only to redress any bias.”
American officials had claimed that the 1,000-page draft WTO report had showed that the EU acted illegally in preventing GM imports. In comments designed to engineer a further easing of European import restrictions, the US said that a moratorium on GM imports, in place since 1998, reflected business protectionism rather than concerns about the health of consumers or the environment.
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However, EU officials said that since the United States, along with Argentina and Canada, filed the case in 2003, it has changed the way it approves GM foods for the European market.
A EU official said: “Since May 2004 the EC has approved for import and sale nine new GM products. The system is working. The science is sound. Products are being processed and approved.
“The approval process and the consumer safety standards applied in the EU may be more stringent than in the US – but GM imports to the EU are rising, especially from competitive exporters like Brazil.”
However, Susan Schwab, the US deputy trade representative, said that Washington now expected a change in the EU’s attitude towards GM products which would be demonstrated by more imports.
“What will be the impact of the report on behaviour? Proof will be in trade flows, in the transparency of the approval process,” she told a briefing during a visit to Brussels.
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“If you are a producer or an exporter, the proof of the pudding is in trade flows.”