Legal challenges in international trade of genetically modified food for developing countries: Navigating a fragmented landscape

Autores/as

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v21i3.9688

Palabras clave:

genetically modified food, international human rights law, international environmental law, international trade law, sustainable development, developing countries

Resumen

Food security, cultural identity, and economic prosperity are inextricably linked to a nation's food systems. The advent of genetically modified (GM) food technologies presents both opportunities and challenges in this complex landscape. This article examines the fragmented legal landscape surrounding international trade of GM food, focusing on the challenges faced by developing nations. We analyze the interplay between international human rights law, international environmental law, and international trade law, highlighting the lack of a unified regulatory framework. Furthermore, we explore the specific challenges faced by developing countries regarding the international trade of GM foods. Finally, we propose potential solutions and argue for the importance of public participation alongside a strengthened promotion of the consumers’ right to information.

Biografía del autor/a

  • Thao Thi Thu Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law
    Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thao holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in law from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law. She is currently researching and working at the Faculty of International Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law. Here, he undertook to teach subjects specializing in international trade law such as International trade law, WTO law, Food safety Law, Cosumer Protection Law, WTO law on non-tariff barriers, Dispute resolution within WTO, Settlement of disputes in international trade contracts, International commercial arbitration law, Trade remedies legislation. She completed the course “Skills to apply WTO rules to Vietnam” Under the MUTRAP III project funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, and the International Humanitarian Law Course organized by the International Red Cross (ICRC) in Philippines. She has many articles on international trade law, WTO law, technical barriers in international trade, food safety law, Vienna Convention 1980 on International contract for the sale of goods (CISG 1980), international contract law,... She co-authored some of the chapters in International Trade Law Part I and Part II (Hong Duc Publishing House). She also co-authored the book "Understanding WTO Law through a number of subsidy cases" (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Thuy Duong, Hong Duc Publishing House) (2014)…
  • Duong Thi Thuy Tran, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law
    Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Duong graduated with honors from the University of Aix-Marseille III, France after successfully defending her doctorat thesis in the field of international commercial law in 2007. She also graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Ho Chi Minh City University of Education in 1997. Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Duong has worked at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law since 1998. In 2014, she was appointed Associate Professor. In 2017, she was appointed Senior Lecturer. Currently, she focuses on research and teaching on topics related to international commercial law, international investment law and international commercial dispute resolution. Since 2008, she has also worked as Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Vietnam Journal of Legal Science. Besides working at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, from 1998 to 2000 she was a lawyer for the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association. Currently, she is a legal advisor to a number of private companies operating in the field of service delivery.

Referencias

CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE

SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES AGREEMENT

TBT AGREEMENT

VIETNAM’S DECREE 69/2010 ON BIOSAFETY FOR GMOS AND PRODUCTS OF GMOS, DECREE 43/2017 ON GOODS LABELING, AND DECREE 15/2018 GUIDING THE FOOD SAFETY LAW

Appellate Body Report, Japan - Measures Affecting AgriculturalProducts, 14, 84, WT/DS76/AB/R (Feb. 22, 1999).

A. OSTROVSKY, Aaron. The European Commission's Regulations for Genetically Modified Organisms and the Current WTO Dispute - Human Health or Environmental Measures? Why the Deliberate Release Directiveis More Appropriately Adjudicated in the WTO Under the TBT Agreement, 15 COLO. J. INrr'L EN'vr'L L. & POL'Y 209, p.214-15, 2004.

BAUMÜLLER, Heike. Domestic Import Regulations for Genetically Modified Organisms and their Compatibility with WTO Rules; International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), 2003.

C. KENNEDY, Kevin. The GATT-WTO System at Fifty. Wis. INT'L L.J. 421, 1998.

COVELLI, Nick. HOHOTS, Viktor. The Health Regulation of Biotech Foods Under the WTO Agreements. INT'L ECON. L. 773, 2003.

COTTIER, Thomas & OESCH, Matthias. International trade regulation – Law and policy in the WTO, the European Union and the Switzerland – Cases, materials and comments, Staempfli publishers Ltd. Berne, Cameron May Ltd. London, 2005.

DANIEL, Bumblauskas. ARTI, Mann. BRETT, Dugan. JACY, Rittmer. A blockchain use case in food distribution: Do you know where your food has been?. International Journal of Information Management, 2019. p. 52.

DUFOUR, Geneviève. Les OGM à l’OMC : Résumé critique du rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire CE- Porduits biotechnologiques, Revue québécoise de droit international, Hors-série, 2007.

EGGERS, Barbara. MACKENZIE, Ruth. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, Journal of International Economic Law, 2000.

FAO. The Right to Adequate Food. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/FactSheet34en.pdf. Accessed 28 May 2024.

FAO, Food safety, Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/a0104e/a0104e08.htm. Accessed 28 May 2024.

NEWELL, Peter & DOMINIC, Glover. Business and Biotechnology: Regulation and the Politics of Influence. U. of Sussex Inst. of Dev. Studies, Working Paper No. 192, 2003.

KRISMSKY, Sheldon and GRUBER, Jeremy. The GMO Deception: What You Need to Know About the Food, Corporations, and Government Agencies Putting Our Families and Our Environment at Risk. Skyhorse Publishing. Kindle edition, 2014.

OGUS, Anthony. Regulation: Legal Form and Economic Theory, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994.

SCOONES, Ian. Science, Policy and Regulation: Challengesfor Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries, U. of Sussex Inst. Of Dev. Studies, WorkingPaper No. 147, 2002.

SINAI, Deutch. Are consumer rights human rights?. Osgoode Hall Law Journal, volume 32(3). p. 537- 578.

SEGERSON, Kathleen (1999). Mandatory vs. Voluntary Approaches to Food Safety, Agribusiness 15 (1).

TERENCE, Stewart. DAVID, Johanson, A Nexus of Trade and the Environ- ment: The RelationshipBetween the CartagenaProtocolon Biosafety and the SPS Agreement of the World Trade Organization, Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy, Vol.

UNITED NATION SECRETARIAT. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights. Accessed 28 May 2024.

U.S. Dep't of State, Bureau of Oceans & Int'l Envtl.& Scientific Affairs, Fact Sheet. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, July 21. 2003. Available at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/ factsheets/biosafety.asp. Accessed 28 May 2024.

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, RESOLUTIONS ADAPTED BY THE CONFERENCE, PRINCIPLE 15. U.N. Doc. A/CONF. 151/26/Rev. I (Vol. 1), Dec. 1, 1992.

VARTIKA, Mathur. LAMIS, Javid. SAMARTH, Kulshrestha. AAKASH, Mandal. A AMARENDER, Reddy. World Cultivation of Genetically Modified Crops: Opportunities and Risks. In: LICHTFOUSE, Eric. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 13. Springer International Publishing. Cham, Switzerland, 2017, p. 45–87.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. THE DECLARATION OF ALMA-ATA IN REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRIMARY HEALTH CARE. Geneva, 1978.

Descargas

Publicado

2025-04-07

Número

Sección

International Food Law

Cómo citar

Legal challenges in international trade of genetically modified food for developing countries: Navigating a fragmented landscape. (2025). Revista de Direito Internacional, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v21i3.9688