EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – MEASURES AFFECTING THE APPROVAL AND MARKETING OF BIOTECH PRODUCTS
Document: Request for Consultations by Canada
Date: 20 May 2003
Document codes: WT/DS292/1; G/L/628; G/SPS/GEN/398; G/AG/GEN/61; G/TBT/D/29
Complainant: Canada
Respondent: EU
Third parties: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Taiwan, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Uruguay, U.S.
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.5, 5.6, 7, 8, Annex B, Annex C  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)Art. 2.1, 2.2, 2.8, 2.9, 2.11, 2.12, 5.1, 5.2, 5.6, 5.8  Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)Art. I:1, III:4, X:1, XI:1  GATT 1994Art. 4.2  Agriculture

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – MEASURES AFFECTING THE APPROVAL
AND MARKETING OF BIOTECH PRODUCTS
Request for Consultations by Canada
The following communication, dated 13 May 2003, from the Permanent Mission of Canada to
the Permanent Delegation of European Commission and to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement
Body, is circulated in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.
The Government of Canada hereby requests consultations with the European Communities
("EC") pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement
of Disputes , Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 ("GATT 1994"),
Article 11 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ("SPS
Agreement"), Article 19 of the Agreement on Agriculture , and Article 14 of the Agreement on
Technical Barriers to Trade ("TBT Agreement"), concerning measures affecting the approval and
marketing of products that contain, consist of, or are produced from, genetically modified organisms
("GM products").
As a result of measures taken by EC Member States, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden, since 1998, the
EC has maintained a de facto moratorium on the approval of GM products. The moratorium prevents
GM products from accessing or proceeding through the EC’s approvals process. 1 As a consequence
of the moratorium, Canadian GM products have been blocked at various stages of the EC’s approval
process.
In addition, some EC Member States, including Austria, France, Greece, and Italy have
prohibited the importation and marketing of GM products despite those products having been
approved by the EC for importation and marketing.2

1 As set out in EC Directive No. 2001/18 of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the
environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EC (and its
predecessor, EEC Directive No. 90/220 of 23 April 1990 on the deliberate release into the environment of
genetically modified organisms), EC Regulation No. 258/97 of 27 January 1997 concerning novel foods and
novel food ingredients and related legislative instruments specifically referred to therein.
2 For example, see the Austrian measures re: Corn T25 published in the Federal Official Journal
28 April 2000; the French measures re: Rapeseed Topas 19/2 published in the Official Journal 18 November
1998; Greek measures re: Rapeseed Topas 19/2 effective 8 September 1998; and, Italian measures re: Corn T25
Official Gazette, Presidential Decree of August 4, 2000.
WT/DS292/1, G/L/628,
G/SPS/GEN/398, G/AG/GEN/61,

These measures appear to be inconsistent with the SPS Agreement, the TBT Agreement, the
GATT 1994, and the Agreement on Agriculture. The provisions of these Agreements with which the
measures appear to be inconsistent include the following:
• SPS Agreement: Articles 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 5.5, 5.6, 7, 8 and Annexes B and C;
• TBT Agreement: Articles 2.1, 2.2, 2.8, 5.1 and 5.2;
• GATT 1994: Articles I:1, III:4, X:1 and XI:1;
• Agreement on Agriculture: Article 4.2.
These violations appear to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to Canada under these
Agreements. Moreover, these measures appear to nullify and impair the benefits accruing to Canada
in the sense of Article XXIII:1(b) of the GATT 1994.
Canada looks forward to receiving the reply of the EC to this request and welcomes any
suggestions that it may wish to make concerning dates on which the consultations could take place.