WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1356/98 by Allan MACARTNEY to the Commission. Proposed USDA standards for organic foods
Date: 1998-05-07
Institutions: European Parliament, MACARTNEY
Subjects: United States, World Trade Organisation, biotechnology, consumer information, food standard, genetically modified organism, labelling, trading operation

C 31/36

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.2.1999

Thus, only government indebtedness towards the rest of the economy is taken into consideration, while those
government liabilities which correspond to financial assets held within the government sector are excluded. To
establish figures for government debt in accordance with this definition, government debt held within the
government sector itself is netted out.

In recent years, Member States have limited their government debt through recourse to increased consolidation,
by inducing those government agencies which hold significant portfolios of financial assets to invest a growing
proportion of their assets into government paper. For example, social security funds in Denmark and Finland
have been restructuring their portfolio towards increased holdings of government debt over recent years. In
Finland, such consolidation operations amounted to 4.5 % of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1995.

(1999/C 31/044)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1356/98

by Allan Macartney (ARE) to the Commission

(7 May 1998)

Subject: Proposed USDA standards for organic foods

What action does the Commission intend to take with regard to proposals by the United States Department of
Agriculture setting out new standards for all organic agriculture in the USA?

Is the Commission concerned about the extension of foods which can be classified as organic, in particular the
inclusion of foods which have been genetically modified? Has the Commission considered the impact these rules
could have in the European market and any implications under GATT which could mean that European
consumers are no longer able to chose traditional organic foods?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(18 June 1998)

Under the arrangement provided under the World trade organisation (WTO) agreement on technical barriers to
trade (TBT), the Commission submitted comments to the United States on their proposed regulation for organic
farming taking into account the experience on the application of Council Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 of 24 June
1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and
foodstuffs (1) and scientific and technological progress.

The Community has well developed rules for the production and labelling of organic products. Council
Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 provides in Article 11 for a regime of equivalency for products imported from third
countries. This regime is managed either by the Commission (Article 11.1) or, as is currently the case for products
from the United States, by the Member States (Article 11.6). The Community requirements provide that before
products from third countries are placed on the market in the Community as organic products, it must be
demonstrated that
the products were produced in accordance with production standards and inspection
arrangements equivalent to those applied to Community production. Similarly, the draft United States regulations
on organic farming include provision for equivalency for imports of organic products from other countries,
including the Community, into the United States.

As for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), their acceptance in organic products was in the initial draft
American national organic programme and the Community expressed its concern in its comments on the
American notification under the TBT. As a result of the comments received, on 8 May 1998 the American
agriculture secretary announced that the American department of agriculture would make fundamental changes
in their proposed rules for national organic food standards. The inclusion of the products of biotechnology, the
use of irradiation in food processing and the application of biosolid will not be included in the revised rules and
will not bear the organic label. Such a change will be in line with the Codex guidelines on organic farming which
are currently under discussion which provide for a prohibition of the use of GMOs in organic farming.

(1) OJ L 198, 22.7.1991.