Effects of the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol on Trade in GMOs, WTO Implications, and Consequences for China

The UN Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety adopted in Montreal, 29 January, 2000 and opened for signature in Nairobi, 15-26 May, 2000 will exert a profound effect on international trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their products. In this paper, the background to the drafting and negotiation of the Protocol is outlined, and potential effects of various articles of the Protocol on international trade in GMOs are analyzed. Based on the present status of imports of GMOs and domestic research and development of biotechnology in China, likely trends in imports of foreign GMOs and related products after China accedes to WTO is explored. Also, China’s strategies and countermeasures to control and regulate imports of GMOs in line with implementation of the Protocol are discussed