US trade officials say that the EU's proposed new rules for the labeling and traceability of genetically modified (GM) crops and foods will not be enough to resolve a complaint the United States currently has before the World Trade Organization (WTO). The rules, approved by a vote of the European Parliament last week, require special labeling of food with more than 0.9% GM content, or which involved GM crops in its production, and the meticulous tracing of GM products from the field to the consumer.
The vote was intended to clear the path to removing the EU's de facto moratorium on new GM approvals, in place since 1998. This moratorium arose when some member states of the European Union blocked new approvals because of fears about safety and consumers' right to know if GM crops were present in foods or had been used in their production. This has been interpreted ...
