ASHINGTON,
June 19 — Talks between the United States and the European
Union over opening up Europe to genetically modified foods broke
down in Geneva today, the Bush administration announced,
heightening trans-Atlantic tensions.
American officials said they
would soon request that the World Trade Organization convene a
panel to hear their case, in an effort to end a ban that farm
groups say is depriving agricultural businesses of hundreds of
billions of dollars a year.
The Bush administration called
Europe's policy illegal, saying that scientific research had
shown genetically altered crops to be safe. The European Union
"denies choices to European consumers," Richard Mills,
a spokesman for the United States trade representative, Robert
Zoellick, said in a statement today.
European officials said the
long-term effects of altered food remained uncertain. They said
they were disappointed by the administration's publicizing of
the dispute.
The food dispute is one of a
handful of trade fights between the United States and Europe and
comes as tensions linger over the war in Iraq, which many
European countries opposed. Trade officials also continue to
haggle over steel tariffs imposed by the Bush administration
last year, farm subsidies on both sides of the Atlantic, and an
American law that reduces taxes for companies with overseas
operations, among other issues.
"There have never been
more of these litigations than there are right now," Robert
E. Lighthizer, a trade lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher
& Flom in Washington, said of the disputes. He said the
relationship was "extremely contentious."
American and European
officials met in Geneva today for a round of negotiations, known
as a consultation, after the United States filed suit at the
W.T.O. over the issue last month. Today's announcement means
that the trade organization will soon begin selecting a panel of
judges to hear the case, although a decision is likely to take
months.
Genetically modified food —
which can grow more quickly than traditional crops and can be
resistant to insects — has caused scant controversy in the
United States, where people eat it every day. Almost 40 percent
of all corn planted in this country in genetically modified.
In Europe, however, the
environmental movement is more powerful, and a series of food
problems, including mad cow disease, have made people far more
skeptical of assurances of safety from governments and
businesses. Some food packages there bear the label "GM
free," and the initials are well enough known to be used
regularly in headlines in British newspapers.
The European Commission has
permitted the use of some genetically modified foods, like
soybeans, in the last decade, but has effectively placed a
moratorium on most new products.
The Bush administration and
agricultural businesses view the policy as simple protectionism
because American companies, which dominate the biotechnology
industry,would benefit most from lifting the ban. Without it,
American companies would export about $300 billion more in corn
each year than they do now, according to the American Farm
Bureau Federation.
Scientific research has
generally shown that genetically modified foods do not cause
health problems.
"Countries shouldn't be
able to erect barriers for nonscientific reasons," Don
Lipton, a spokesman for the farm federation, said. "That's
a very important principle in international trade."
In a speech last month,
President Bush escalated the dispute by saying that Europe's
policy was undermining efforts to fight hunger in Africa.
African nations, fearing their products would be shunned by
Europe, are avoiding developing genetically modified food that
might help feed the continent, he said. "European
governments should join, not hinder, the great cause of ending
hunger in Africa," he said in the speech.
European diplomats reacted
angrily to Mr. Bush's comments, saying that their health
concerns were serious and noting that European nations spend a
greater part of their budget on foreign aid than the United
States.
European officials have also
said that they are surprised that the United States has
highlighted the dispute recently. This summer, the European
Parliament is scheduled to consider a measure that would
establish strict labeling rules for genetically modified
products, which could allow more of them to be sold.
Europe's resistance to
modified crops received a political lift last week when a global
treaty restricting them was approved. Although it is not clear
what effect the treaty, known as the Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety, will have on the trade dispute, it is likely to make
it easier for countries to restrict importing the crops, trade
experts say.
The United States, worried
about the treaty's impact on American exporters, agreed only
reluctantly to support it when it was negotiated in 2000.
Announcing that the talks
between Europe and the United States had broken down today, Mr.
Mills, the trade representative's spokesman, said in his
statement that he was "disappointed but not
surprised."
He added, "We'll be
moving forward with requesting a panel" to decide the case.
Willy Helin, a European
Commission spokesman, said that European officials had explained
their policy fully to the United States delegation today, but
that they had expected the dispute to reach the next level.
"This is a first formal
step," he said.
Argentine officials, who have
joined the United States in filing the W.T.O. case, also
attended today's talks, Mr. Helin said.
But other nations that have
previously criticized Europe's position, including Egypt, did
not, he said.
