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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Thursday, June 6, 2013

U.S.-EU Trade Talks — The Precautionary Principle Rears its Ugly Head

by Fran Smith on June 5, 2013
Even before substantive negotiations have begun, a major problem has surfaced in talks on a U.S.-EU trade agreement. Last month, the European Parliament passed a resolution stating the EU’s objectives and positions on major issues relating to a proposed trade agreement. One provision in that resolution started an outcry by the U.S. agriculture, food, dairy, and meat producers. The provision deals with the “precautionary principle” and reads:
17.  Emphasises the sensitivity of certain fields of negotiation, such as the agricultural sector, where perceptions of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), cloning and consumer health tend to diverge between the US and the EU; sees an opportunity in enhanced cooperation in agriculture trade, and stresses the importance of an ambitious and balanced outcome in this field; stresses that the agreement must not undermine the fundamental values of either side, for example the precautionary principle in the EU; calls on the US to lift its import ban on EU beef products, as a trust-building measure;
The precautionary principle is a concept invoked even when there is no scientific evidence that a product is harmful to human health or the environment. It is based on the hypothetical rather than the real. Thus, even when there is a lack of scientific evidence that products are likely to cause harm, the EU can take action to ban the import of those products....To Read More.....

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