Clinton Willing to Be Patient with EU on GMOs

November 9, 1999

President Clinton will give the European Union time to study genetically modified foods with an eye toward acceptance of such foods in the marketplace, but the studies have to be done on a scientific basis.

One of the "big problems" is that the EU has no organization equivalent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Clinton told farm broadcasters. "Our goal with the Europeans is to get them to commit unambiguously to making decisions with GMOs based on science."

He added, "We've got to give the Europeans a chance to look at (GMOs), but it's got to be done on a science basis...all we want the Europeans to do is to have the same kind of scientific approach (as the United States)."

Clinton also said he believed U.S. negotiators are at a disadvantage going into the World Trade Organization talks without fast-track authority. He said he will work to get Congress to approve fast-track -- the authority that allows a trade agreement to be finalized without amendment by Congress, only approval or disapproval.

"But we're not at too much of a disadvantage" without fast-track, he added. "We can still negotiate, because we have the WTO framework. We can still start a new trade round and bring it back to Congress. And its (completion is) three years down the road anyway. To the extent we're at a disadvantage, it's more psychological than anything else, because other countries traditionally have been far more protectionist than America."

Clinton also promised to impose more sanctions on the EU "until we get satisfaction" in the beef hormone issue. "If we lost a case in the WTO to them, they'd expect us to honor the ruling. We have won not once, not twice but three times, and they keep ignoring the rulings."

The WTO has ruled repeatedly against the EU's ban on imports of beef from animals that were treated with growth hormones.