EU Agrees to Remove U.S. Rice Import Restrictions

A committee of European Union (EU) member state officials has reportedly decided to cease imposing U.S. rice import restrictions which had been in place since 2006 when genetically modified (GM) rice was found in conventional rice supplies. U.S. rice could be sold in the EU over the past four years only if certified as free from GM rice. Rice farmers in the United States have cited the EU restrictions in litigation against the company that manufactured the GM rice; the farmers have prevailed in several lawsuits, winning both compensatory and punitive damages for the precipitous drop in prices paid for their crops after the EU and Japan essentially closed their borders to all U.S. rice. According to a news source, the 2009 rice crop has been found to be free of LL Rice 601, and the EU has been assured that U.S. rice exporters will continue to test rice exported to Europe. See Reuters, April 19, 2010.