Although the United States has not ratified the Convention and cannot participate in official decisionmaking, its financial backing of Convention programs assures it a role behind the scenes. A few other parties to the Convention, notably Japan, Germany, and Australia, had joined the US opposition at earlier meetings. Recognizing that the rest of the world strongly supported a biosafety protocol, these countries moderated their positions at the Jakarta meeting, facilitating the consensus to negotiate the protocol. At issue now is the content of the biosafety protocol. In other words, the protocol should focus on requirements imposed on exporters to obtain the consent of the importing countries.
Most developed countries are comfortable with that narrow scope.
Many developing countries, however, would like the protocol to have a broader scope, including the use of genetically modified organisms and socioeconomic concerns. Peru has proposed a moratorium on all transboundary transfers of genetically modified organisms until the protocol is in force. .