GMOBioengineered Foods

Grassley, Farm Groups Fear ChemChina-Syngenta Deal Will Amplify Biotech Barriers

Senators and agriculture groups are expressing concern that the Chinese market for biotechnology products will further tilt against the U.S. agricultural community and biotech firms if state-owned ChemChina follows through with its plan to acquire Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta. “Now that you'd have a state-owned enterprise actually directly owning one of the major ag research companies -- not just in the United States but globally -- one would have to think that the potential at least exists for preferential approval...

CHINA SIDES WITH EUROPEAN UNION ON SOME ISSUES IN WTO BIOTECH FIGHT

The government of China last week tabled a submission to a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel that sided with the European Union on a number of key issues arising from the challenge of the EU's moratorium on approval of genetically modified organisms by the U.S., Canada and the Argentina, according to informed sources. In its May 24 submission to the WTO panel, China explicitly rejected the U.S. argument that GMO crops are "like products" to crops that are not...

CHINA APPROVES FIVE GMO VARIETIES, BUT STILL REQUIRES DOCUMENTS

The government of China early this week granted final approval to five varieties of crops containing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), which will allow these crops to be exported to and sold in China immediately after the Chinese government implements a permanent GMO regime on April 20. In a February 22 statement, China's Ministry of Agriculture said Round-Up Ready soybeans, a variety of Round-Up Ready cotton, one bt cotton and two bt corn varieties were approved, according to U.S. government and industry...

CHINA: GMO SOYBEAN AUTHORIZATION SHOULD COME BY END OF JANUARY

Chinese officials visiting Chicago earlier this month said China should be in a position to issue final safety approval for Round-Up Ready soybeans that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by the end of January. Approval of these bioengineered soybeans would come well before the April 20 deadline by which China has promised to grant final approval for GMO crops and implement its permanent GMO import regime. Under China's pending permanent regime, all GMO crops must be approved as safe, after...

CHINA EXTENDS GMO SYSTEM UNTIL 2004, INDUSTRY FEARS NEW SHIPPING DELAY

China informed the Bush Administration in a July 16 letter that it would extend, as expected, an interim system of approving crops containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) until April 20, 2004. This move will let U.S. exporters continue to ship GMO soybeans and corn into China even though China has not yet issued final safety approval for these products. The extension was seen as critical to allowing U.S. exports of GMO crops to continue while China prepares to put in...

CHINA EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE FORMAL EXTENSION OF INTERIM GMO SYSTEM

China was expected early this week to formally make good on its intention to extend its interim system of approving sales of genetically modified crops until April 2004, thereby avoiding a disruption of U.S. soybean exports this fall, according to a U.S. government source. In a seminar scheduled in Beijing on July 21, Chinese officials were expected to announce that they would begin issuing necessary safety certificates with an expiration date of April 20, 2004, he said. While the U.S...

SOYBEAN EXPORTERS ASK USTR FOR ASSISTANCE IN TWO AREAS IN CHINA

The American Soybean Association last week asked the U.S. Trade Representative's office for help in two key areas relating to exports to China -- first, asking China to formally announce a delay of its final import regulations for crops containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and second, pressuring China to remove a series of barriers that have the effect of creating unofficial quotas for soybean imports. In a July 2 letter to USTR's Chief Agriculture Negotiator Allen Johnson, ASA said the...

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