|
|
|
Need to define biosafety guidelines for WTO
THE potential that new World Trade Organization disciplines on trade in genetically modified organism products would regulate trade in biotechnology products at the international level.
The WTO deals with the rules of trade between nations. Its goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers to conduct their business. There are several international agreements that would impact future trading mode and technology transfer, including the Biosafety Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) Protocol. Therefore in the future WTO member countries will have to meet their obligations and amend its biosafety laws because the WTO also emphasis on science-based regulatory standards.
Therefore, Pakistani government need to set hard or soft biosafety guidelines and national laws to test, and to control the import or export of genetically modified food, seeds and other products.
Although Pakistan has ratified and/or is signatory to many international agreements such as TRIPS, IPR, and the Cartagena Protocol of Biosafety to show its growing worldwide interest in the GMOs (genetically modified organisms) trade under WTO regulations, it has not yet finalized its biosafety guidelines which are on the table of federal minister of environment since Jan 1 awaiting approval, although these regulations are in place in most countries of the world.
Regulations
Genetic engineering is a revolutionary technology. It has advanced to the stage that it now allows scientists to change the characteristics of living organisms by transferring the genetic information from one organism, across species boundaries into another, to create a organism. Genetic engineering allows the transfer of genetic material between organisms that would never be able to procreate and breed for the betterment of human. On the one hand genetic engineering promises benefits to society, but on the other it has raises some ethical, social, environment and trade issues, among certain nations.
There are currently no globally accepted biotech standards or guidelines for evaluation of the safety of biotech products. Therefore, in the absence of broadly accepted standards, most of the countries have adopted their own safety regulations and standards with respect to biotech products. Whereas development of biosafety standards and procedures by many countries have helped its traders, growers and manufacturers, and prevented foreign firms from entering its markets unlawfully.
Dr Kauser Abdullah Malik, Member (Biosciences), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission said in a seminar on GMO Food held in Islamabad on May 30 that the reason for the Burewala virus, which caused huge losses to the cotton crop in 2002, “was the introduction of a foreign untested variety that was not suitable to our soil and climate, and this import of untested seed occurred again due to absence of biosafety laws.”
The United States is the world’s largest producer and exporter of modern biotech products. Without generally accepted standards for evaluating the safety of biotechnology products, different views have emerged between the United States and the European Union on the need to trace biotech components used in the food production chain as well as on the need for mandatory labels, designating biotech food products.
Different countries are aligning their policies either with those of the United States or the European Union.
Therefore, to promote and to protect national interests, different governments have systematically advanced national and international laws that benefit their biotech economy.
The power of biotechnology as a tool for agriculture is increasing rapidly. Worldwide the beneficial economic impact of plant biotechnology has so far been almost exclusively on crops of high economic importance in developed countries such as Bt Cotton, Bt Maize, Bt Canola, Bt Soybean, and potato.
Agriculture remains the dominant sector of our economy and accounts for about 25 per cent of GDP, half the employed labour force, and 70 per cent of foreign exchange earnings. Pakistan is the world’s fourth largest producer of cotton. Since cotton is the backbone of our economy, it would be a big mistake if we close our door for agricultural biotechnology. WTO regulations require Pakistan government and traders to deal with food safety issues. Different countries are developing, modifying and changing their biosafety regulations from time to time.
In Jan 2001, for instance, Bolivia introduced a ban on all food and agricultural products derived from GMO crops; but in Aug 2001, the Bolivian government lifted the ban and made a permanent law on this subject.
Similarly, in Nov 2002, EU countries have approved enhanced labeling requirements for biotechnology food and feed; according to new requirements all biotechnology food products to be labelled irrespective of whether the biotechnology component is present in the final product, effectively extending labeling requirements to highly refined products like corn and soybean oil produced from biotechnology crop varieties and food ingredients made from biotechnology products, even though the products may have no detectable traces of the biotechnology component. For the first time, biotechnology feed products also must be labeled.
The European Union have recently asked Pakistan to start labelling its products specially agricultural, regardless whether it is GMO-free or not. Unfortunately, Pakistan lags far behind in the acquisition, application and management of biotechnology. Much of the problem lies in the lack of appropriate regulatory system.
There is no laboratory in Pakistan that can identify and properly label which food products are genetically modified. Unless a new laboratory is established, Pakistan may loose agricultural exports amounting to $200 to $250 million per year to EU countries.
Conclusion
Efforts to develop generally accepted standards for biotechnology products are being conducted by United Nations agencies like the Food Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization and by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Biotechnology also has been addressed in other trade-related forum such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
While the Codex Alimentarius Commission is working on a draft principle for human health risk analysis of biotechnology food products, and plans to consider formally adopting these principles by end of 2003.
WTO member countries have invested heavily in genetically modified products, according to their national interest. On the other hand Pakistan has not yet made any progress in developing biosafety regulations likely to come under significant pressure to adopt new WTO disciplines soon. It is imperative for Pakistan to protect its future market through activating biosafety regulations as soon as possible either by adopting American model or European model of regulations.
Let’s hope Pakistan government understands the importance of biosafety guidelines and regulatory reforms in this subject in order to harmonize the future problem of world market access increase consumer confidence in the safety and efficacy of modified organisms and reduce the risk of serious trade disputes.
The writer
|
|
|
|
