Greenpeace volunteers dressed as Uncle Sam dump GE maize on other volunteers representing consumers in straitjackets, suffocating their demand for the right to say no GE food.
The new Greenpeace study 'Genetic Engineering and the WTO: an
Analysis of the Interim Report in the 'EC-Biotech' Case', points
out that the WTO's interim ruling has "missed the point" by failing
to consider relevant global environmental rules when judging GE
restrictions in Europe. The report also concludes that the WTO has
taken international environmental law backwards by failing to
support the precautionary approach, a basic environmental principle
endorsed by the Biosafety Protocol, the first international
agreement to regulate the transboundary movements of GE
organisms.
Update
In response to the final ruling of the World Trade Organisation
in the US-EU Biotech case, Daniel Mittler, Trade Policy Advisor,
Greenpeace International, said: "This ruling scandalously
undermines international environmental law, but it will only fuel
the public's rejection of genetically engineered foods the world
over.
GE giants from the United States will not sell a single grain
more as a result of the WTO self-righteously ignoring global
environmental law in this decision. In fact, the GE industry will
face their products being taken off the shelves the world over - as
Ebro Puleva has done by refusing to import any US rice into Europe,
as announced today.
Governments must take urgent action to restrict the power of the
WTO so it cannot be used to undermine environmental laws again. In
the meantime, consumers, companies and governments will and must
continue to act with precaution even if trade bureaucrats do
not."
"The broad interpretation of the scope of global trade law and
the narrow interpretation of the relevance of other international
agreements such as the Biosafety Protocol is both unwarranted and
counterproductive," commented Duncan Currie, international law
expert and author of the assessment of the WTO case, "The ruling
contradicts what Heads of States agreed at the UN World Summit in
2005. Although politicians claim that environmental law and trade
law support each other, this ruling demonstrates that in the hands
of the WTO, environmental law is in fact made subservient to trade
laws."
"The WTO is clearly unqualified to deal with complex scientific
and environmental issues, and yet, when there is a conflict between
trade and environmental considerations, it is the WTO that gets to
decide which rules rule; it's like putting the fox in charge of the
chickens," said Daniel Mittler, Trade Policy Advisor at Greenpeace
International, "Recent scandals, such as the spread of illegal US
rice in Europe or GE contamination of papaya in Thailand, show that
the risks from GE are real, and a precautionary approach
indispensable. Governments must act now to strengthen precaution in
international law and ensure that global rules to protect the
environment can never be undermined by the WTO."
Despite the WTO ruling, restrictions on Genetically Engineered
organisms remain possible as long as they are based on risk
assessments systems accepted by the WTO. As global protests against
GE continue, and industry leaders commit to going GE free (2),
Greenpeace is confident that governments, farmers and consumers
will continue to reject GE as an unsafe and unnecessary technology.
"But now we know that all those who claim that trade law and
environment law will never be in conflict are lying" concludes
Mittler.
Other contacts: For further information, please contact:Duncan Currie, international law expert, +64 21 632 335Daniel Mittler, Trade Policy Advisor, Greenpeace International, +49 171 876 5345Namrata Chowdhary, Greenpeace International Communications, + 31 646 1973 27
VVPR info: Link to legal assessment published today:http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/genetic-engineering-and-the-wto
Notes: Notes to Editors:(1) In August 2003, the US, backed by Canada and Argentina took the EU to the WTO for suspending approvals for biotech products, and for six EU member states' implementing national bans on EU-approved GE organisms. See: http://www.greenpeace.eu/downloads/gmo/WTObriefing0602.pdf andwww.bite-back.org(2) The world’s largest rice processing company, Ebro Puleva, which controls 30% of the EU rice market, has confirmed to Greenpeace International that it has stopped all imports of rice from the USA due to the threat of contamination by genetically engineered (GE) rice. See press centre for related news release to be issued on 29th September 2006. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/