Understanding the WTO Biotech dispute

New Delhi workshops July 2007

2007-08-09T16:59:00.000+01:00

The Indian aspect of this project was divided into three workshops. The first two of these were held in;

India International Center, New Delhi 17-18 July, 2007, New Delhi
Delhi University, New Delhi 26- 27 July, 2007

The workshops were essentially capacity building exercises for civil society. The purpose was to familiarize civil society actors with the outcome of the EU-US trade dispute on trade in GM crops; to discuss the content of the WTO ruling in the dispute case and to assess and evaluate the implications of this ruling on the inherent flexibilities available to developing countries in taking decisions on the trans border movement of GMOs.

The first workshop was run by GeneWatch UK and Gene Campaign. The participants were from a wide range of organisations around India. The included presentations and discussions on;

The WTO Biotech ruling and its impact.
The current issues within the European Union with regard to GMOs
The problems of implementing labelling and traceability legislation within India and the international and trade issues this raises.
Detailed presentations on experiences of using the Indian Right to Information Act
An exploration of the differing methods civil society groups have used to campaign and raise awareness of issues surrounding GMOs

The second workshop was organised in collaboration with the Food, Trade and Nutrition Coalition- Asia at Delhi University. The participants at this meeting were largely those working on food security and international trade issues. In this workshop, presentations included;

The Doha round negotiations and the use of protective tariffs in agriculture.
The use of the US Farm Bill to subsidise American farmers.
The final WTO Dispute Panel findings
The relationship between the WTO and the Cartagena protocol on Biosafety
The problems of implementing labelling and traceability legislation within India and the international and trade issues this raises.

London Workshop 28-29th July 2007

2007-07-02T12:12:00.001+01:00

On the 28th and 29th July 2007 the first workshop was held at the NCVO centre in north London. There were 14 participants from the UK, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Georgia, India and Australia.

Over the course of the two days, the participants heard presentations covering a wide range of topics related to the dispute. These included;

An analysis of the outcome of the dispute and its implications on developing countries.
The role of civil society groups in the WTO dispute and specifically experiences from the WTO Bite Back coalition and the from the submission of an amicus curiae brief from public interest groups.
The history and implementation of traceability and labelling rules around the world. Plus an examination on the near impossibility of making such rules work in a country like India.
Details of a the TRIPS and the Environmental Intermediaries Programme run by the Quakers

The two days of discussion were really useful and the participants all found the presentations, discussions and organisation as either goo or excellent. The most useful aspects of the workshop were the learning and sharing of perspectives on what is a very complex topic. having legal experts Alice Palmer and Ujjwal Kumar present , really helped
Those from Europe really found having hearing about both the dispute and wider issues of international legislation on GMOs from and Indian perspective particularly valuable

Why this blog?

2007-06-18T13:53:00.000+01:00

In May 2003, the, Argentina and Canada made a formal complaint to the WTO about the de-facto moratorium on GM crops and food in the European Union. This complaint became known as the WTO Biotech Dispute. It wasn't until September 2006 that the final ruling became known.

The final ruling can be viewed on the WTO website

A detailed timeline of events leading up to and during the dispute and its progress can be viewed on the GeneWatch website. Included are links to the main submission made by the parties and many news items and articles written during the dispute process.

During 2007 GeneWatch UK and Gene Campaign in India will run a project to raise awareness within civil society organisations in Asia and Europe of the implications of national and regional regulations and standards for genetically modified (GM) crops and foods for trade with developing countries. It will include consideration of the Biotech dispute and explore mechanisms for wider societal involvement in trade debates.

The main project consists of a series of discussion papers written to inform workshops in the UK and India. The following posts will give further details of the workshops.