EU Agricultural Policies and Implications for Agrobiotechology

Abstract

This paper provides a European perspective on how agricultural policies have developed in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US). The goal is to dispel the myth that exists in some places in the US, particularly inside the beltway in Washington, DC, that the EU and the US are diametrically opposed in their approaches to agriculture. The EU and US do in fact share a common attitude towards farming and, as a result, their policies are converging very rapidly. In addition, all is well for successful negotiations to take place in Geneva on further liberalization of world trade in farm products. This liberalization of markets is already underway and will be to the mutual benefit of both the EU and the US. This paper also addresses the current problems encountered in the trade of agricultural products, such as hormone treated beef and genetically modified (GM) crops; how these products relate to the concerns of European citizens about food safety; and how the EU is trying to resolve these concerns in the interest of greater trade across the Atlantic.