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Inside or outside? The role of the WTO in the settlement of the transatlantic trade dispute on GMOs

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Intereconomics

Abstract

The looming transatlantic trade war over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has revived the debate on the appropriateness of the WTO.1 In this article, it is asserted that the present WTO remains the appropriate forum for addressing the GM dispute as its science-based approach harmonises members' food safety concerns with free trade interests. Calls for the recognition of consumer preferences by the WTO severely underestimate the dangers of disguised producer protectionism.

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This article is a revised version of a paper written during the author's sojourn at the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. The author wishes to express his thanks to Professor László Csaba, Department of International Relations and European Studies, Central European University, for his assistance and helpful comments.

See: Forum. New Transatlantic Trade War, in: INTERECONOMICS, Vol. 37, No. 3, 2002, pp. 124–137.

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Gruber, M. Inside or outside? The role of the WTO in the settlement of the transatlantic trade dispute on GMOs. Intereconomics 39, 36–45 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03032205

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