GMO trade issues will be at the forefront for U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack at the G-20 forum in Turkey this week.
Vilsack said he’ll meet one-on-one with European Union counterparts about the proposal to allow each EU nation to decide whether or not to ban imports of Genetically Modified crops.
“The proposal creates not one EU market but potentially 28 EU markets which obviously creates more friction in the system," Vilsack said. "And, secondly, it is not based on science. It is based on political and cultural considerations which could potentially create serious problems in a trade relationship.”
And that’s especially a concern, give the potential trade agreement between the U.S. and the EU in the Trans Pacific Partnership.
Vilsack says the G-20 meeting is a chance to discuss food security issues that also include reducing post-harvest loss and food waste.
The G-20 is made up of the U.S. and 18 other countries PLUS European Union countries, all of which represent more than 75 percent of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com