ITALY'S BARRIERS TO AG BIOTECHNOLOGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 004519 SIPDIS STATE FOR EB FOR RCEKUTA AND CSCHONANDER EUR/ERA PASS TO JOHN HENNESSEY NILAND EB/TPP PASS TO DEBBIE MALAC FAS/USDA PASS TO EJONES AND DYOUNG USTR PASS TO MSLOAN BRUSSELS FOR USEU EUR/WE FOR TEKACH-BALL AND BURKHEAD UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ROME 04519 01 OF 02 171516Z MILAN FOR PRINCIPAL OFFICER FLORENCE FOR PRINCIPAL OFFICER NAPLES FOR PRINCIPAL OFFICER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ETRD TBIO ETRD TBIO IT EUN ITEAGR EUN SUBJECT: ITALY'S BARRIERS TO AG BIOTECHNOLOGY REF: (A)STATE 166333; (B) 00 SECSTATE 156317; (C) 00 BRUSSELS 04909; (D) 00 ROME 06366; (E) ROME 00371; (F) 97 ROME 08523 ¶1. SUMMARY: IN RESPONSE TO REFTEL A, POST PROVIDES BACKGROUND ON ITALY'S BARRIERS TO AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY. ITALY'S THREE NATIONAL BARRIERS TO AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY ARE A BAN ON EU-APPROVED CORN VARIETIES, ITALY'S RESTRICTIVE THRESHOLD FOR ADVENTITIOUS PRESENCE OF BIOTECH MATERIAL IN CONVENTIONAL SEEDS, AND A NATIONAL SEED REGISTRY. THE CORN BAN ¶2. THE AMATO DECREE, PUBLISHED AUGUST 8, 2000, WAS CALLED A "SUSPENSION" BY THE ITALIANS BECAUSE IT SUPPOSEDLY WAS A TEMPORARY MEASURE TO PROHIBIT IMPORTS OF FOUR EU-APPROVED BIOTECH CORN VARIETIES. THE BAN HAS NEVER BEEN RESCINDED. REFS B AND C DETAIL THE CORN VARIETIES, PROCEDURAL DETAILS ON UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 ROME 04519 01 OF 02 171516Z NOTIFICATION, AND EU COMMISSION REACTION. ITALY INVOKED ARTICLE 12 OF THE EU'S 1997 NOVEL FOODS REGULATION NUMBER 258/97 ON THE GROUNDS THAT AS A MEMBER STATE THEY WERE ALLOWED TO SUSPEND TRADE IN NOVEL FOOD ITEMS WHICH COULD BE PROVED TO BE HARMFUL TO HUMAN HEALTH OR THE ENVIRONMENT. ITALY PUT FORTH A JUSTIFICATION OF THE BAN BASED ON A HEALTH RISK. THE COMMISSION ISSUED AN OPINION, CS/NF/DOSLL ADD 4 REV 2 FINAL AND CONCLUDED "THE COMMITTEE IS OF THE OPINION THAT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE ITALIAN AUTHORITIES DOES NOT PROVIDE DETAILED SCIENTIFIC GROUNDS FOR CONSIDERING THAT THE USE OF THE NOVEL FOODS IN QUESTION ENDANGERS HUMAN HEALTH." NOTWITHSTANDING THIS CONCLUSION, THE COMMISSION FAILED TO CENSURE THE GOI. ¶3. THE BAN PROHIBITS IMPORTS ON THE FOUR TYPES OF EU-APPROVED BIOTECH CORN, WHETHER AS INGREDIENTS OR AS FINISHED PRODUCTS. THE ITALIAN MINISTRY OF HEALTH HAS AUTHORITY OVER TESTING CORN INGREDIENTS IN PROCESSED FOOD, AND THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE HAS AUTHORITY 
OVER SEED CORN FOR PLANTING OR FEED CORN. COMMENT: THESE MINISTRIES CONTINUE TO BE IN CONFLICT OVER GM TESTING ISSUES; THEY DO NOT COORDINATE ON IMPLEMENTATION OR METHODOLOGIES. END COMMENT. IN REF D POST REPORTED SCANT ENFORCEMENT OF THE BAN. UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 04 ROME 04519 01 OF 02 171516Z ¶4. TRADE IMPACT THE AMATO DECREE IS LARGELY A POLITICAL GESTURE. ITALY IS A RELATIVELY LARGE PRODUCER OF CORN, APPROXIMATELY 10 MILLION TONS ANNUALLY, WHICH IT CONSUMES DOMESTICALLY. ITALY IMPORTS ONLY ABOUT 500,000 TONS ANNUALLY, ALL FROM FRANCE. CONVENTIONAL SEED TRADE ¶5. AFTER SEVERAL PLANTING SEASONS FRAUGHT WITH CONFLICTS OVER "ZERO TOLERANCE" OF GM IN SEEDS FOR PLANTING, ITALY'S NEW MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE PROPOSED A DECREE DECEMBER 28, 2001 TO ADOPT A TOLERANCE FOR ADVENTITIOUS PRESENCE OF GM IN CONVENTIONAL CORN AND SOYBEAN SEEDS FOR PLANTING. HAVING SUBSEQUENTLY FAILED TO REACH CONSENSUS AMONG THE THREE MAJOR FARM GROUPS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, MINISTER ALEMANNO OUTLINED A PLAN CALLING FOR AN OUTRIGHT REJECTION OF SEED LOTS TESTING AT MORE THAN ONE PERCENT GM CONTENT AND FOR AN APPLICATION OF "FLEXIBLE CONTROLS" OF LOTS ABOVE ZERO BUT LESS THAN ONE PERCENT. SUBSEQUENT IMPORTS OF SEEDS LOTS WERE TESTED WITH SOME REJECTIONS OF U.S. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PTQ3921 PAGE 01 ROME 04519 02 OF 02 171516Z ACTION EUR-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 CEA-01 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 DINT-00 DODE-00 DOEE-00 ITCE-00 SRPP-00 EB-00 EXME-00 E-00 UTED-00 VC-00 FRB-00 HHS-01 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 ITC-01 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 NSF-01 OES-01 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 SP-00 SSO-00 SS-00 STR-00 TEST-00 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 EPAE-00 ECA-00 PMB-00 DRL-02 G-00 SAS-00 /013W -------------- E89422 171517Z /38 P 171452Z SEP 02 FM AMEMBASSY ROME TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5876 USDA FAS WASHDC 2275 INFO AMCONSUL FLORENCE AMCONSUL MILAN AMCONSUL NAPLES EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 004519 SIPDIS STATE FOR EB FOR RCEKUTA AND CSCHONANDER EUR/ERA PASS TO JOHN HENNESSEY NILAND EB/TPP PASS TO DEBBIE MALAC FAS/USDA PASS TO EJONES AND DYOUNG USTR PASS TO MSLOAN BRUSSELS FOR USEU EUR/WE FOR TEKACH-BALL AND BURKHEAD UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ROME 04519 02 OF 02 171516Z MILAN FOR PRINCIPAL OFFICER FLORENCE FOR PRINCIPAL OFFICER NAPLES FOR PRINCIPAL OFFICER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ETRD TBIO ETRD TBIO IT EUN ITEAGR EUN SUBJECT: ITALY'S BARRIERS TO AG BIOTECHNOLOGY SEEDS FOR PLANTING. THE MINAG HAS PUBLICLY STATED THAT THERE IS NO CHANGE IN ITALY'S ZERO TOLERANCE FOR BIOTECH IN SEEDS. IN PRACTICE, ITALY HAS MOVED FROM A "ZERO TOLERANCE" RELYING ON A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF GM CONTENT IN SEEDS TO A "ZERO TOLERANCE" WITH QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT, BUT ITALY STILL LACKS CONSISTENCY IN TESTING METHODOLOGY AND THUS AN UNEQUIVOCAL THRESHOLD OF TOLERANCE FOR SPECIFIC BIOTECH EVENTS. THERE IS STILL CONSIDERABLE RISK TO US EXPORTERS OF SEEDS THAT THEIR PRODUCTS CAN BE REJECTED AT PORTS. THERE IS ALSO RISK AT THE POINT OF SALE, BECAUSE SEEDS CAN ENTER ITALY BY OVERLAND ROUTES THROUGH OTHER EU COUNTRIES, AND LATER BE REMOVED FROM RETAIL SHELVES AND SUBJECTED TO SAMPLING. REF E DETAILS AGMIN ALEMANNO'S JANUARY 2002 STATEMENTS ON THRESHOLDS FOR SEEDS FOR PLANTING. ECONOMIC IMPACTS UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 ROME 04519 02 OF 02 171516Z ¶6. ALTHOUGH DIFFICULT TO QUANTIFY, IN PART BECAUSE OF TRADE WHICH ENTERS ITALY FROM LAND ROUTES ORIGINATING IN OTHER EU COUNTRIES, POST BELIEVES THAT THE US SUPPLIES APPROXIMATELY EIGHTY PERCENT OF ITALY'S IMPORTS OF SOYBEAN SEED AND ABOUT HALF OF ITALY'S CORN SEED. US EXPORTS OF ALL SEED TYPES IN 2001 TOTALED $32 MILLION. IN THREE OF THE LAST SIX YEARS ITALY HAS BOUGHT US SOY AND CORN SEEDS TOGETHER WORTH MORE THAN $45 MILLION. HOWEVER, US SEED SALES TO ITALY ARE HIGHLY VARIABLE FROM YEAR TO YEAR. DATA DO NOT POINT TO ONE REASON FOR THIS VARIABILITY, BUT THE UNCERTAINTIES AND PROHIBITIONS AGAINST BIOTECH IN CONVENTIONAL SEED HAVE INTRODUCED SIGNIFICANT RISK INTO THE MARKET. NATIONAL SEED REGISTRY ¶7. ITALY MAINTAINS A NATIONAL SEED REGISTRY THAT CAN PROHIBIT SEEDS FROM BEING IMPORTED IF THEY ARE DEEMED TO PUT THE COUNTRY'S ECOSYSTEM OR BIODIVERSITY AT RISK, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THESE SEEDS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY OTHER EU MEMBERS (SEE REF F). APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, WHICH HAS HISTORICALLY BLOCKED APPROVAL OF BIOTECH SEEDS FOR PLANTING IN ITALY. THERE IS ALSO A TWO YEAR FIELD TESTING REQUIREMENT FOR ALL TYPES OF SEEDS FOR PLANTING. SEMBLER UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 04 ROME 04519 02 OF 02 171516Z UNCLASSIFIED > 2002ROME04519 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED