NCGA
Says Biosafety Protocol Will Impact Corn Trade Significantly (6-16-03)
The Biosafety Protocol
(BSP) will have a significant impact on agricultural trade in general
and on corn in specific, according to the National Corn Growers Association
(NCGA). The BSP was ratified June 13 after receiving approval from
Palau, the 50th and final country needed for ratification. The BSP
will be put into force on Sept. 11.
Adopted in January
2000 under the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the
BSP seeks to ensure an adequate level of protection in the safe transfer,
handling and use of living modified organisms resulting from modern
biotechnology.
“NCGA has
been very involved as a member of the International Grain Trade Coalition
(IGTC), which is comprised of representatives of exporting companies
and organizations from around the globe, to help develop language
and interpretation of the rules of the BSP,” said NCGA President
Fred Yoder. “The IGTC strives to ensure there can be fair and
easy movement of grains shipped to the importing countries while addressing
the safety concerns those customers may have.”
Countries that
ratify the BSP are legally bound to adhere to its provision. The United
States is not a party to the CBD and cannot become a party to the
BSP. Since the BSP provides that transboundary movement of living
modified organisms (LMOs) between parties and non-parties be consistent
with the objective of the BSP, the United States will be required
to act in accordance with the principles of the BSP when trading with
countries that have ratified the protocol.
“This is
why it is so important that the rules governing the BSP are written
in such a way that does not inhibit the transboundary movement of
grain,” continued Yoder. “The United States has very high-quality
grain to ship to our customers, but reasonable documentation and common
sense protocols are essential for the United States to remain competitive,
while also providing the highest quality products to our international
customers.”
According to NCGA,
the BSP and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are working at cross-purposes.
The specific risks that LMOs may pose to biological diversity and
to human health are not identified in the protocol. In addition, the
protocol authorizes countries to consider socio-economic concerns
in the decision on importation of an LMO. These and other aspects
of the protocol could pose a number of interpretative challenges relevant
to their analysis under WTO rules.
The transboundary
movement of commodities for food feed or processing is about 200 million
tons of cereals, 30 million tons of rice, more than 70 million tons
of oilseeds and more than 7 million tons of pulses.
“If documentation
requirements in the BSP are interpreted in such a way to allow the
rejection of commodity shipments based on unnecessary documentation
specificity, not related to the safety of the products, the U.S. grain
markets could be devastated,” said NCGA Director of Public Policy
Hayden Milberg.