At the request of the United States and Canadian governments, a trade dispute panel has rescinded an invitation to Canadian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit official comments in the dispute under the Canada-US-Mexico Trade Agreement (CUSMA) over Mexico’s phase-out of genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) corn. “We’re extremely concerned that the US government requested we be blocked from commenting but even more concerned that the Canadian government wrote to support this silencing,” said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, one of the two organisations in Canada that had been granted leave to submit written comments. “We’re disappointed that we’re no longer permitted to provide our research and arguments directly to the dispute panel.” GMWatch

 

 

India's Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear at length Public Interest Litigations (PILs) challenging the Environment Ministry's decision to approve the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard – India's first commercial GM food crop. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Aruna Rodrigues, argued that the Technical Expert Committee held that the whole regulatory system concerning GM organisms in India is in complete disarray and needs to be set right, including developing expertise to conduct many tests that are not being conducted, such as long-term toxicity studies. He said there aren't enough labs to conduct these studies and tests. Business Standard

 

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