KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Talks to regulate international trade in genetically modified (GM) crops got going Monday with supporters and critics of the controversial technology well set to battle things out.
Delegates from nearly 90 countries met in the Malaysian capital for the first time since a regime governing cross-border trade in GM organisms became law last year, with details on shipment labeling, liability and compliance still to be worked out.
The meeting began with Washington and Brussels at loggerheads over the European Union (news - web sites)'s de facto moratorium on GM approvals, which the United States has challenged under World Trade Organization (news - web sites) rules in Geneva.
Opponents of genetic modification claim its impact on the environment and the safety of the foods remains unproven while proponents say the technology has been adequately tested.
While European and developing countries have generally embraced the U.N. Cartagena Biosafety Protocol, major GM crop growers and exporters led by the United States have either not signed it or not ratified it.
The law, whose specifics remain to be negotiated in detail, will oblige exporters to give more information about genetically modified products like maize and soybeans before any shipment to recipient countries, to help them decide whether to accept it.
Richard White, a U.S. trade official, said his country would not accede to the regime any time soon, pointing to its agreement with Mexico and Canada as a model for cross-border trade in GM grains and oilseeds.
Asked about the row with Europe, he said perceptions were very different on the two sides of the Atlantic.
"Consumers in the United States are by and large not interested or concerned about biotech products in their food," he told reporters on the margins of the meeting, saying people had eaten some GM foods for five years or more.
He said European perceptions had been shaped by mad cow disease, creating "extreme sensitivity" over food safety.
Wolfgang Koehler, head of the German delegation, said Europe's focus was on consumer protection and labeling issues.
"We like to have it clear for every consumer to see what he is buying, what he is eating, what is in it," he said, adding the same should be true for exports to other countries.
Developing countries, which generally lack the means to build homegrown systems of GM import controls and risk assessment, are looking to the Malaysia talks for guidance on cross-border trade documentation, protocol compliance, liability and redress.
Global sowings of GM crops rose to 167.3 million acres last year, according to ISAAA, an industry-backed group promoting biotech as a way to halt hunger.
The vast bulk was in the United States and Argentina, with Canada, Brazil, China and South Africa as secondary growers.
