USCIB played a lead role in putting together a business delegation to the OECD’s October workshop in Washington on harmonization of regulatory oversight of biotechnology.  Hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the meeting brought together participants from OECD member countries, non-member countries and BIAC’s membership.

A main goal of the workshop was to discuss new approaches in the OECD’s development of Consensus Documents on Plant Biology and Traits.  These documents compile information relevant for risk/safety assessments that is mutually recognized by OECD member countries.  The second goal was to identify future priorities for the OECD’s Working Group on Harmonization of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology – especially environmental risk assessment and the next generation of biotechnology-derived organisms.

Established in 1995, the working group aims to promote regulatory harmonization by ensuring the data and methods used to conduct risk/safety assessments of transgenic crops are as similar as possible among OECD member countres.

This work enables countries to share the burden of data collection and thus improve efficiency in conducting risk assessments.  Harmonization can also lead to countries accepting information from other’s assessments which can reduce unnecessary barriers to trade.

The October workshop’s steering committee will meet to draft policy recommendations.  USCIB is represented on the steering committee by Blake Biles (Arnold & Porter) and Janet Collins (Monsanto).

The workshop’s outcomes were to be discussed at meeting of the OECD Working Group in late November.  Final decisions on a future work program are expected to be made at the group’s June 2004 meeting in Paris.

More on USCIB’s activities on biotechnology policy: Click Here.