Six countries promoting trade in biotech crops

The United States and like-minded governments are banding together to promote the importance of science-based regulations in facilitating trade of agricultural commodities derived from agricultural biotechnology.

In a joint statement, the United States was joined by the governments of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Paraguay in announcing their intention to work collaboratively to remove global barriers to the trade of agricultural biotechnology and promote science-based, transparent and predictable regulatory approaches.

Key members of the U.S. agricultural value chain have joined together to applaud the work of the six nations. The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), American Soybean Association (ASA), Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) said they welcome the leadership of the U.S. government—including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States Trade Representative and U.S. Department of State, as well as their counterparts in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Paraguay—in taking these steps toward greater collaboration to systematically address global barriers to trade of products derived from agricultural biotechnology.

The U.S. agriculture sector agrees that a particular area of concern is the timeliness and efficiency of global regulatory systems. In the joint statement, the like-minded governments have highlighted their intention to promote synchronization of authorizations by regulatory authorities—in particular for food, feed and processing purposes.

The six nations also stated their intention to collaborate in the development of domestic, regional and international approaches to facilitate the global management of low-level presence of biotechnology-derived commodities that are authorized in one or more countries, but not in the country of import. 

Agricultural production from these six countries is a major contributor to global food security. Collectively, these countries provide the vast majority of corn and soybean supply in international markets. Production and trade in all six of these countries use modern technology, including plant biotechnology, to provide for consumers’ needs around the world.