. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/115
17 June 1999
(99-2455)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
GENETICALLY MODIFIED AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD PRODUCTS
Submission from the United States
The United States has transmitted the following communication dated 15 June 1999, to the
Secretariat, with the request that it be circulated to Members of the Committee.
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1. The United States would like to draw the attention of the Committee to the notifications
concerning genetically modified agricultural and food products.  In the past we have expressed our
general interest in ensuring transparency in the development, adoption and enforcement of technical
regulations, and have raised concerns with a specific regulation adopted by one Member.  At this
meeting we would like to simply draw the attenti on of the Committee to some broader issues, without
specifically commenting on any one of the individual notifications at this time.
2. Our review of notifications made under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
(TBT Agreement) shows that 11 notifications have been made which deal with the issue of genetically
modified agricultural or food products.  We would also note that additional notifications have also
been made under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  The
following table contains the TBT notification number, Member notifying, date of notification and a
brief description of the proposal notified under the TBT Agreement.
No. Notification.
No.Country Date
SubmittedDescription
1. 95.266 Canada 12/9/95 Novel foods
2. 97.151 European Union 21/4/97 Foods and food ingredients made from genetically
modified soya and maize
3. 97.382 European Union 6/8/97 Products Containing GMOs
4. 97.383 Norway 6/8/97 Prepacked Foodstuffs & ingredients except food
additives, flavourings & extraction solvents
5. 97.766 European Union 12/12/97 Labelling foods/food ingredients produced from
genetically modified soya and maize
6. 98.442 Germany 28/8/98 Foodstuffs
7. 99.095 Switzerland 23/3/99 Products containing living genetically modified
organisms (LGMO) or pathogenic organisms, such
as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, food, animal
feedingstuffs, live vaccines
8. 99.204 Republic of Korea 3/5/99 Agricultural & fishery products and their processed
products
9. 99.134 Australia 26/3/99 Foods Derived from Gene Technology
10. 99.244 New Zealand 19/5/99 Foods Derived from Gene Technology
11. 99.250 Switzerland 21/5/99 Medicines that contain/consist of genetically
modified organisms or medicines manufactured byrecombinant DNA technologyG/TBT/W/115
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3. It is worth observing that during the first two years (1995-1996) only one notification was
made.  During the next two years (1997-1998) Members notified five additional proposals covering
this new technology.  In the first five months of  1999 an additional five proposals have been notified
for Members' review and comments.
4. Clearly, there is a sharply increased rate of proposed new technical regulations for genetically
modified agricultural and food products, which indicates increasing national debate regarding the
need for technical regulations.  While the number of notifications concerning agricultural and food
products derived from modern genetic transfer techniques comprises a relatively small part of the
significantly larger product domain covered by the TBT Agreement, we would emphasize that
significant international trade in a wide variety of agricultural and food products is involved.
5. The United States also notes that international standards applicable to labelling and other
aspects of agricultural and food products stemming from modern genetic transfer techniques aregenerally non-existent or only recently has work been undertaken in earnest to address international
guidelines and standards, which could be relevant for Members developing science-based regulatory
processes for food safety reviews.  We would urge Members to participate in the work of the Codex
Alimentarius to advance agreement on relevant international standards.
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