The Impact of Asynchronous Approvals for Biotech Crops on Agricultural Sustainability, Trade, and Innovation

Val Giddings contributed to a new report from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology outlining the costs of disruptions to international trade in commodity grains due to scientifically unjustified over-regulation. Although the focus is on China, almost every regulatory regime around the world aimed at crops and foods produced through biotechnology falls short of the agreed World Trade Organization standards under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. When importing country approvals lag behind those in exporting countries, coupled with zero tolerance for unapproved materials, trade disruptions and significant costs result. There are no winners in these scenarios, and public and environmental health are not improved. The problem can be easily fixed.