Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech

The document discusses the EC-Biotech dispute and the European Communities' argument that WTO agreements should be interpreted in light of international law and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, particularly regarding the precautionary principle and risk assessment for GMOs.

• In the EC-Biotech dispute, the European Communities (EC) argued that WTO agreements should be interpreted and applied using relevant rules of international law from outside the WTO context, rather than treating the trade of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as being regulated exclusively by WTO rules.
• To support its position, the EC cited the US-Shrimp decision, where the Appellate Body interpreted the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) by considering various treaties, including those not signed or ratified by all parties to the dispute.

APA

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. (2007). Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/reports/interpreting-wto-law-and-the-relevance-of-multilateral-environmental-agreements-in-ec-biotech-background-note-to-presentation-by-nathalie-bernasconi-osterwalder-may-2007-2/

Chicago

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie. Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech. Center for International Environmental Law, 2007. https://www.ciel.org/reports/interpreting-wto-law-and-the-relevance-of-multilateral-environmental-agreements-in-ec-biotech-background-note-to-presentation-by-nathalie-bernasconi-osterwalder-may-2007-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first1=Nathalie |title=Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=1 May 2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/reports/interpreting-wto-law-and-the-relevance-of-multilateral-environmental-agreements-in-ec-biotech-background-note-to-presentation-by-nathalie-bernasconi-osterwalder-may-2007-2/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bernasconiosterwalder2007interpreting, author = {Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie}, title = {{Interpreting WTO Law and the Relevance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements in EC-Biotech}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, month = may, url = {https://www.ciel.org/reports/interpreting-wto-law-and-the-relevance-of-multilateral-environmental-agreements-in-ec-biotech-background-note-to-presentation-by-nathalie-bernasconi-osterwalder-may-2007-2/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }