Abstract: . . .  originating in Belgium. Also, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in Europe added to consumer concerns and to their “waning faith in regulatory agencies,” Pew concluded. “Although these crises have not been caused byGE food, GE food has been caught up in the general suspicion about food safety.” Vocal environmental groups in the EU also have raised concerns about environmental impacts. Congressional Interest For several years, MembersofCongressrepresentingagricultural interests had urged the United States to challenge the EU moratorium in the WTO, in the belief that U.S. producers have been adversely impacted there, and will face further barriers if more countries take the EU approach to regulating the products of biotechnology . At the same time, many lawmakers are well aware of the risks involved in escalating U.S.-EU trade tensions to new heights. The House Agriculture Committee held hearingson March 26 and on June . . .
. . .  for FY2005 (H.Rept. 108-792; H.R. 4818) notes that $3.3 million is provided to USDA for “cross-cutting trade negotiations and biotechnology resources.” The Conference Report to accompany FY2006 agriculture appropriations (H.Rept. 109- 255, P.L. 109-97) continues funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for “cross- cutting trade negotiations and biotechnology research.” S. 600, the Foreign Affairs Reauthorization Act for FYs 2006 and 2007, provides for grants to the State Department to help ensure that foreign governments’ views of biotechnology reflect scientific findings about such technology (S.Rept. 109-35).  . . .
. . .  approval of a GE corn variety for human consumption, a number of EU member states continue to block dissemination of approved biotech varieties. The EU restarted its approval process followingimplementation of new labelingand traceability rules for GE crops and foods. 3 In August 2004, the WTO announced that it would establish a panel of expert scientists from theCodex Alimentarius Commission 4 to adviseon scientific issues raised by the dispute, as requested by the EU, delaying its decision from September 2004 to March 2005. The United States opposed involvement of Codex because, it maintained, the safety of GE products was not at issue. The United States accounted for 55% of the 222 million acres (90 million hectares) planted globally with GE crops in 2005, according to the International Service for the AcquisitionofAgri-biotechApplications(ISAAA),agroup supportiveofthetechnology. 5  . . .
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