A legislative proposal to enact a 15-year moratorium on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Costa Rica has the United States Trade Representative (USTR) very concerned. According to a news report filed by Marvin Barquero of national newspaper La Nacion, an urgent letter by Darci L. Vetter, USTR, was sent to the Minister of Foreign Trade (Spanish acronym: COMEX) Alexander Mora on May 26^th.

The main concern expressed on the letter by the USTR to Costa Rica is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Spanish intials: MAG) has expressed support for two legislative proposals that support GMO moratorium initiatives. In essence, the proposals seek to delay introduction of GMO seeds by 15 years for the purpose of observing their effect on ecosystems. GMO supporters point to the effectiveness of these artificially engineered organisms beyond the hybrid cultivation processes; opponents point to evidence of ecosystem disruption.

Costa Rica has a long track record of strong opposition to GMO cultivation; to this effect, it is important to remember that U.S. agro-industrial giant Monsanto has failed to establish an office in our country, and that most municipalities have enacted ordinances that prevent the cultivation of transgenic crops unless they are hybrids vetted by national scientific organizations.

In recent weeks, Costa Rica has enacted strong measures against the importation of avocados, pork, chicken, and potatoes, and some of the measures are indirectly related to GMO use. These have been sovereign measures that have disappointed the USTR because they allegedly go against the spirit of the Free Trade Agreement between Costa Rica and the U.S.

It is important to note that the U.S. is the world’s main producer and exporter of GMOs. The Costa Rica Star has recently reported on U.S. efforts to influence European decisions against the use of GMOs in their soils.