Question to the EC: Mandate on US trade negotiations and GMO risk assessment

See the joint question by MEPs Francisco Guerreiro (Greens/EFA), Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA), Jutta Paulus (Greens/EFA), Anja Hazekamp (GUE/NGL), Günther Sidl (S&D), Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP), Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA), Pär Holmgren (Greens/EFA), Claude Gruffat (Greens/EFA), Bronis Ropė (Greens/EFA), Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA), Sarah Wiener (Greens/EFA) e Benoît Biteau (Greens/EFA) to the European Commission and the answer regarding the mandate on US trade negotiations and GMO risk assessment.

Subject: Mandate on US trade negotiations and GMO risk assessment 

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that the fundamental difference between the approaches adopted by the EU (precautionary principle) and the US (liability of producers) concerning environmental and health risks has a direct and sometimes devastating impact on human wellbeing and environmental integrity. We are therefore concerned about the possible watering down of the precautionary principle if the approval process for genetically engineered organisms imported into the EU is speeded up as part of a trade agreement with the United States. Even today, the risk assessment of GMOs in the EU does not cover all possible effects, especially on a long-term timeframe. A further weakening of the procedure would pose unacceptable risks to the health of EU citizens and our environment. 

The European Parliament has therefore a right to know: 

1. On the basis of which mandate are EU-US trade negotiations being carried out? 

2. Is it true that the easier import of genetically engineered organisms forms part of these negotiations?

3. The Commission has stated that the EU and US are engaged in regular dialogues on biotechnology policies with a view to exchanging information and fostering cooperation. Could it specify what meetings it has already had or will have in this regard, the format of these meetings and their content?

Answer in writing

The Commission follows its negotiating directives in any trade agreement negotiations with the United States (US). After the European Parliament decided on 13 March 2019 to take no position on this matter, the Council authorised on 15 April 2019 the Commission to open negotiations with the US on a) a trade agreement limited to the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods only, thus excluding all agricultural products such as genetically modified ones;(1) and b) an agreement on conformity assessment that would have as its objective the removal of non-tariff barriers, by making it easier for companies to prove their products meet technical requirements both in the EU and the US while maintaining a high level of protection in the EU.(2) These decisions were accompanied by two negotiation directives,(3) asking the Commission to take full account of particular sensitivities for certain goods. The decisions also clarify that the negotiating directives for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership have become obsolete. 

Since 2008, an annual EU-US technical dialogue on plant biotechnology has taken place as a consequence of a 2003 World Trade Organisation ruling, where it was found that the EU violated the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement with certain EU and Member State level measures relating to the approval and marketing of biotech products. These technical discussions should not be confused with any trade negotiations. When the Commission discusses regulatory cooperation with the US, it clarifies that the EU will not lower its food safety standards, and EU sanitary and phytosanitary legislation remains fully applicable.

(1)       https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39180/st06052-en19.pdf

(2)       https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39178/st06053-en19.pdf

(3)       https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39181/st06052-ad01-en19.pdf and https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39179/st06053-ad01-en19.pdf

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