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GREENPEACE APPLAUDS EU APPEAL AGAINST WTO BEEF-HORMONE RULING
Brussels, Belgium 26 September 1997
Greenpeace applauds yesterday's decision by the European Union to appeal against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in order to maintain its ban on the import of hormone treated beef.
In a letter to the European Trade Commissioner, Sir Leon Brittan, Greenpeace expressed its concern that if not modified by the Appellate Body, the WTO dispute ruling on the hormone-treated beef could have tremendous negative consequences for democracy and for future trade and environment disputes.
Although a health-related dispute, Greenpeace believes that the beef-hormone case characterises the intense and broad debate about trade and environment and health issues which has been going on for the last five years and which has been based on specific WTO rulings such as those on tuna-dolphin, recyclable bottles, shrimps and turtle, bananas, magazines etc. The hormone-beef ruling could also set a damaging precendent for standards for genetically modified products.
The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) seems to be attempting to: i) impose the primacy of free trade over environmental and health protection by putting the burden of proof on those countries defending higher environment and health standards; ii) undermine the right of nations and peoples to determine their own environmental and health policies; iii) neglect fundamental principles underlying present environment and health policies and regulations such as the precautionary principle, prevention at source and the polluter pays principle; and iv) impose lowest common denominator health and environmental standards by acting as as arbitrators for health and environmental policies, which cannot then be challenged by any other democratic body.
"The WTO has become one of the most powerful instruments of current foreign policy in this era of globalization, and its Dispute Settlement Body is central to its functioning. However, the WTO continues to be a very undemocratic and untransparent body. How can three lawyers be allowed to over-rule the decision of the elected representatives of 360 million people? Despite the greater effectiveness of its Dispute Settlement Body in comparison to the former GATT, it has failed to assure consumers and environmentalists, as well as legislators and decision makers, that it can rule in an unbiased manner on issues of major public concern such as health or environment protection," said Ana Toni, Greenpeace Trade Advisor.
Notes:
1) The World Trade Organisation's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) ruled that the EU ban on the import of US and Canada's hormone treated beef was an unfair trade barrier. The DSB recommended that the EU remove the import ban immediately or pay compensation to US and Canada. On September 25 at the WTO DSB meeting the EU appealed against that WTO ruling.
2) The EU ban was instituted in 1989, prohibiting meat produced with certain hormones from entering the European market. The dispute concerns six hormones ( five steroid hormones - ostradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol and trenbolon - and an animal growth specific hormone, somatotropin)
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Ana Toni, Greenpeace Trade Advisor, tel: + 49 40 8223612,
Susan Leubuscher, Greenpeace EU Unite, tel: +32 2 280 1400