On February 7, 2006, a Dispute Settlement Panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued the interim report in the European Communities – Measures affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products (EC-Biotech) case. In its report, the Panel addressed the various categories of European Communities (EC) and EC Member State measures challenged by the United States, Canada, and Argentina, and found that each of these types of measures were inconsistent with WTO rules – in particular the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). Nevertheless, the Panel emphasized that its report did not examine the safety of biotech products and that it had not examined the legitimacy of current EC legislation. Indeed, a spokesperson for Peter Mandelson, trade commissioner of the European Union, characterized the interim report as “largely of historical inte rest” as it would not affect or alter the European decision-making system or framework in relation to biotechnology products. Given distorted press statements and understanding of the Interim Report, however, concerns regarding the content of the ruling and its potential impact on the ongoing debate on biotechnology both in the European Union and in other countries remain.
The objective of the present note is to provide an overview of the main findings and reasoning in the Panel’s Interim Report. The claimants in EC-Biotech challenged three types of measures taken by the EC and EC Member States, all of which were dealt within the ruling.