EU Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, assures that European regulation regarding hormone-treated beef or current rules on genetically engineered foods won’t change, as it has been suggested –is one of the toughest issues that US has in agriculture, having both sides very strong opinions about it.
“These differences between the United States and European Union on issues such as genetically engineered foods and crops will make negotiations for a transatlantic trade deal complicated”, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated in an interview with Bloomberg News in Istanbul, where he was at a G-20 agriculture minister’s meeting.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that this is a complicated topic because each side has a big economic interest. Vilsack said that allowing genetically engineered crops food prices can be lowered, being that good for the economy and market itself. He expressed that a system of free trade won’t be well used if countries are blocking products and creating barriers due to political and cultural reasons, aiming to let people and market decide. But here we have to remember what has been said at the beginning by Cecilia Malmström: “When it comes to GMOs or hormones on beef we are not even discussing it, it’s not even on the table. We are confident this agreement will lead to increased jobs, investment and trade, and it could be signed under the Obama administration”.
source image: www.agriculturalrev.weebly.com
