CONFIDENTIAL

VERY URGENT

PERMANENT MISSION OF BOLIVIA IN GENEVA

Date: 12th June 2001

From: Ambassador Florencia Ballivian de Romero
To: Javier Murillo de la Rocha, Minister of Foreign Affaires
Reference: Concerns of the Permanent Mission of Argentina on the WTO due to the Bolivian
interdiction of Genetically Modified Products


Mister Minister,

I inform you that the Permanent Mission of Argentina on the WTO has told this Mission that they have instructions from their competent authorities to try "to find a solution at a multilateral level" about the Resolution N 001/01 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Cattle and Rural Development of Bolivia concerning the prohibition of import of GM products.

Before giving the annexed note, they requested a meeting with this Mission to explain the sensitive situation created by the Ministerial Resolution. Among the main elements of concern are the following:

1. The Ministerial Resolution is not backed up by a risk assessment based on scientific criteria.
2. Bolivia has not officially notified the WTO of this measure.
3. They would be violating the principle of non-discrimination when allowing the introduction of genetically modified products from Food Aid.
4. Even the European countries which are the most "sensitive" have not imposed a prohibition of these kind because they don't have a risk analysis that justifies it scientifically.
5. The credibility of the Bolivian position would be questioned in the WTO and in the Codex Alimentarious which backs the principle of application of sanitary and phitosanitary measures based only with scientific criteria.

Also, the Argentinian mission informed that strongly tried to solve the case bilaterally in Buenos Aires and La Paz in order not to present the case at the WTO, but unfortunately there was no progress at that level, so the competent authorities told him to initiate the actions in Geneva at the WTO. Also indicated, that the soya corporate sector was behind this issue, because they export five thousand dollars of genetically modified soya to Europe and NorthAmerica.

Under the WTO procedures, the "multilateral solutions" are initiated with a request to conduct official consultations and consultations are requested to based in the provisions of the Sanitary and Phitosanitary Agreement and finally consultations are conducted in the Dispute Settlement agreement. Of course Members that consider a situation as "serious", as the ones mentioned in the annexed note, they have the faculty to find a direct solution at the Dispute Settlement body.

Mister Minister, the present situation is very delicate, because this Mission considers that, from the WTO rules point of view, the reasons given by the Argentinean Mission are very valid and our country has no solid justification to back the adopted measure.

I would like from you to give me as soon as possible your valuable comments and instructions in order to give a reply to the note of the Argentinean Ambassador.

I welcome the opportunity to reiterate my best greetings.


Florencia Ballivian de Romero
Ambassador
Permanent Representation

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