The US has raised concerns at India’s approval for environmental release of genetically modified (GM) mustard and the “routine cultivation” of GM cotton by Indian farmers even as New Delhi mandates a non-GMO and GM-free status certificate from exporting countries for 24 food products, including apples, wheat, rice, tomato and potato. In a submission to the WTO on Tuesday, it asked India to revoke the measure. “The United States continues to request India immediately revoke this trade restrictive measure,” it said.
Last year, India approved the country’s first ever environmental release of a GM food crop, DMH11 mustard. The approval was issued for a limited period of four years. New Delhi has said told the WTO that the certification requirement is an assurance that food the crops exported to India for human consumption are of non-GM origin and GM-free while the US argued that compliance with the GM-free certificate requirement is inconsistent with the global trade norms for application of food safety and animal and plant health regulations, called Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in trade parlance. “India has still not shared the requested scientific justification for requiring a GM-free certificate for the 24 products covered,” the US said.
