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2012/SOM2/HLPDAB/003

Action Plan - Facilitating Trade in Products Derived from Innovative Agricultural Technologies

Purpose: Information

Submitted by: United States

/ 11thHigh Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology Kazan, Russia
26-27 May 2012

Action plan: facilitating trade in products derived from innovative agricultural technologies

  1. ISSUE

Innovative agricultural technologies and the products derived from these technologies can strengthen food security; raise farm income; foster innovation; spur economic growth; and enhance agricultural productivity. Yet divergent regulatory requirements may often negatively affect the development and application of these technologies, as well as the use and trade of products derived from these technologies. Transparent, science-based regulatory approaches are critical to the safe use and trade of products from innovative agricultural technologies and to promote innovation in agriculture. Regulation and oversight that ensure the fulfillment of legitimate objectives such as the protection of safety, health, and the environment (including biodiversity) is critical; however, regulation and oversight should avoid creating unnecessary trade barriers or inhibiting innovation and new technologies.

  1. PROPOSAL

Therefore, we agree that APEC economies will promote and adopt regulatory approaches that are transparent, science-based, consistent with international obligations, and take into account, where appropriate, existing international standards in order to facilitate trade in products derived from innovative agricultural technologies; support food safety, animal and plant health; protect public health; and stimulate innovation, economic growth, and agricultural productivity. Further, we encourage economies to take the following actions, when practicable, to support this commitment in a manner that is most effective and least burdensome in terms of use of resources:

  • Publicize through written means, either in a journal of domestic circulation, official publication, a website or equivalent means, our regulatory approaches for innovative agricultural technologies with the goal of providing information by 2012. As an example, this could include information about our regulatory and/or policy approaches to occurrences of low-level presence of plant biotechnology events that are approved in one or more economies, but not in the economy of import.
  • Conduct periodic self-reviews of our regulatory and policyapproaches for innovative agricultural technologies, with the goal of conducting subsequent reviews as appropriate, based on changes in the technology or science, in order to ensure transparency, and public and stakeholder awareness, confidence, and understanding of our regulatory systems, and to spur economic growth and innovation.
  • Provide for meaningful and transparent public consultation and stakeholder input into each economy’s regulatory processes, consistent with the 2005 APEC-OECD Integrated Checklist for Regulatory Reform, which is a voluntary tool.
  • By the end of 2012, identify and begin, to the extent practicable, capacity-building activities needed to assist member economies in achieving the above goals, taking into account other capacity-building activities in APEC.