A ten-year moratorium on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been rejected by Alan García, Peru’s outgoing president who says the move breaches the country’s WTO commitments.
The bill will now be sent back to Congress for reformation.
The legislation, which was approved by Peruvian Congress on 7 June, declared a ten-year moratorium on the entry of GMOs into Peru for cultivation, breeding, or as any other type of transgenic product.
García sent the legislation back to Congress saying that the moratorium is incompatible with responsibilities Lima has under WTO agreements and that it could be harmful for research.
Congress will now have the opportunity to vote on the moratorium again either after making amendments or simply putting the bill to a vote again as is. However, with the body currently on summer recess, a special session would have to be called for any action to take place before the newly elected Congress comes to power on 28 July.
For years Peru has maintained an almost zero tolerance policy on the cultivation, development, and importation of GMOs while all Latin American nations surrounding have begun to rapidly develop and grow GM crops. After nine years of discussions, García signed the biosafety regulation into law on 15 April.
The Biosafety Rules for the Agriculture or Forestry Sectors sets standards for regulating research, production, and trade of GMOs. The passage of the regulation was met with great civil society resistance citing concerns for biodiversity.
The moratorium would suspend all previously passed regulation for its duration.
In the rejection, the Executive claims that a five-year moratorium would be substantial enough to build up the necessary “safety filters” for avoiding biodiversity concerns. It also cites scientific evidence that shows GMOs pose no threat to biodiversity.
According to Peru’s Agriculture Minister Jorge Villasante the moritorium would continue to hold Peru back economically as it raises demands and sanctions against Peru at the WTO for its protectionist GMO policies. The move would also put Peru at odds with trade partners such as Brazil and Argentina, he said.
Observers say president-elect Ollanta Humala Tasso is likely to be in favour of the moratorium.
