Bush Links Europe's Ban on Bio-Crops With HungerMay 22, 2003By DAVID E. SANGER NEW LONDON, Conn., May 21 - President Bush charged todaythat Europe's ban on genetically modified food haddiscouraged third world countries from using thattechnology and thus undermined efforts to end hunger inAfrica. Mr. Bush's accusation, long a complaint of Americanfarmers, was made during a graduation speech at the UnitedStates Coast Guard Academy that dwelled on initiatives tocombat AIDS and poverty. It is almost certain to exacerbate the divisions betweenWashington and Europe that emerged before the war in Iraq.While Mr. Bush has made the case before that Europe shouldstop obstructing the sale of genetically modified food,today was the first time he linked that policy with worldhunger. The speech signaled the tough stance Mr. Bush is likely totake when he goes to France in 10 days for the annualeconomic summit meeting of seven major industrializednations and Russia. White House officials have already saidMr. Bush plans no reconciliation with the leaders of Franceand Germany, beyond what they call a perfunctory "courtesyvisit" to President Jacques Chirac during the summitmeeting, to be held in the French town of Évian. In a speech that the White House said would put forwardwhat aides called a positive agenda that would show a farsofter side to American foreign policy, Mr. Bush insistedthat widened use of "high-yield bio-crops" would greatlyincrease agricultural productivity in some of the poorestnations. "Yet our partners in Europe are impeding this effort," hesaid, clearly meaning France and Germany, though he namedno countries. "They have blocked all new bio-crops becauseof unfounded, unscientific fears." The result, he charged, was that African nations that fearbeing shut out of European markets are not investing in thetechnology. He appeared to be referring to countries likeUganda and Namibia. "European governments should join, not hinder, the greatcause of ending hunger in Africa," he said. Mr. Bush made no mention of the United States' own strongeconomic interest in the outcome of the dispute withEurope. American corporations lead the world inbiotechnology and are anxious to open the lucrativeEuropean market. Last week the administration filed the equivalent of alawsuit with the World Trade Organization to force Europeto lift its ban on genetically modified food, a step thatMr. Bush had delayed during the debate on Iraq. Inside the White House, the emotions about the countriesthat tried to stop the invasion are still raw; recently asenior administration official told reporters thatdiplomacy to disarm Saddam Hussein had been going welluntil, in the official's view, France stabbed the UnitedStates in the back. The French have complained that suchcomments are part of a concerted effort by theadministration to turn the American public against Franceand its goods. Today the United States trade representative, Robert B.Zoellick, wrote an op-ed article in The Wall Street Journalaccusing the European Union of disregarding scientificevidence and sending "a devastating signal to developingcountries that stand to benefit most from innovativeagricultural technologies." He charged that some African countries were refusingAmerican food aid "because of fabricated fears stoked byirresponsible rhetoric about food safety." The European public has been highly reluctant to purchaseany genetically modified products, citing unknown long-termhealth and environmental risks. European officials havesaid that the Bush administration can argue over theopenness of the European market but that they reject asunderhanded the implication that their stricter rules ongenetically modified food are somehow responsible forhunger in Africa. Tony van der Haegen, the expert for food safety at theEuropean Union, said administration officials had been "abit unfair to whip Europeans" when they had never blockedfood aid. Last week European officials charged that theadministration was manufacturing its claims. "The U.S. claims that there is a so-called moratorium,"Pascal Lamy, the top European trade official, said lastweek, "but the fact is that the E.U. has authorized G.M.varieties in the past and is currently processingapplications. So what is the real U.S. motive in bringing acase?" Yet as a practical matter, the European Union had anunwritten moratorium on new varieties of bio-crops untillast year. Since then it has approved only two applicationsfor new imports. Europeans have also demanded that any genetically modifiedfoods be labeled, a move that American farmers say wouldcondemn the products to the back shelves, where they wouldsit unsold. The United States suit has been joined by anumber of other nations, many of which are seeking freetrade agreements with the United States. Mr. Bush's speech here, delivered in a drizzling rain asCoast Guard vessels bobbed in the waters behind him, markeda return to the state where he was born - a native statusthat the adopted Texan rarely talks about, identifyinghimself more with Midland, the Texas town in which he grewup. But his birthplace was just too close today to be ignored,and Mr. Bush opened his speech by saying, "You know, I wasborn in this state, just down the road." He was greeted bylaughter, then applause. "I've still got relatives livinghere," he said. In his speech, Mr. Bush commended Congress for passinglegislation authorizing greater spending around the worldon AIDS treatment, a bill he said he would sign next week. He called anew for financing for the Millennium ChallengeAccount, a new approach to development aid that would grantmoney to nations that demonstrated a commitment to remakingtheir justice systems, spending more on health andeducation, and adopting market-opening measures. "When I'm in Europe," he said, pointing to another likelysubject of contention, "I will call on America's partnersto join us in moving beyond the broken development policiesof the past, and encourage the freedom and reform that leadto