The Jurist  [Printer-friendly version]
September 14, 2006

UN REPORT CALLS FOR COMMON DEFINITION OF TRADE BAN PRINCIPLE

[Rachel's introduction: Here is a slightly different 'take' on the
same dispute. Earlier this year, the World Trade Organization (WTO)
ruled that the European Union and six of its member states violated
WTO rules by stopping the trade of biotech crops from the U.S.,
Canada and Argentina based on safety concerns -- a precautionary
approach. The WTO objects to this approach, demanding that an
"absolute certainty" of safety issues must be present before trading
bans can be implemented. Who decides the laws governing the health
and safety of a nation? The nation itself or the WTO?]

By Holly Manges Jones

A UN report released Thursday urges countries to develop a common
understanding of the "precautionary principle," [ISIS backgrounder]
a term freely used by nations that do not want to allow certain trade
products to enter their borders on health or environmental grounds.
The study, conducted by the UN University's Institute of Advanced
Studies [official website], found that countries use the term as a
justification for banning products due to fear of serious or
irreversible harm even in instances when the suspected harm is not
certain to occur. The UN report said such environmental or health-
related bans could have a detrimental impact on transatlantic trade
relations especially in cases when the principle is actually being
used as a protectionist measure.

The precautionary principle has been applied to the European Union ban
on genetically modified food and hormone-fed beef from the US and the
US ban on unpasteurized cheeses from Europe. Earlier this year, the
World Trade Organization (WTO) [official website] ruled that the EU
and six member states violated trade regulations [JURIST report] by
stopping the trade of biotech crops from the US, Canada and Argentina
based on alleged safety concerns. The WTO has said an "absolute
certainty" of safety issues must be present before trading bans can be
implemented. Reuters has more.

Copyright Bernard J. Hibbitts 2006.