Mexico City, Mexico
June 30, 2009
USDA/FAS GAIN report MX 9041
Report highlights
The Secretariat of
Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery and Food
(SAGARPA) published in the Diario Oficial (Federal Register)
on June 22, 2009, an Agreement to create the Technical and
Scientific Committee for Genetically Modified Organisms. The
main objective of this Committee is to integrate and support
the administrative units of SAGARPA regarding the analysis
of genetically modified organisms as well as issue technical
opinions in respect to requests and notices in accordance
with the Bio-safety Law.
General Information
Introduction
This report summarizes an Agreement from the Secretariat of
Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery and Food and
published in Mexico’s Diario Oficial (Federal Register) on June
22, 2009.Disclaimer:
This summary is based on a cursory review of the subject
announcement and therefore should not, under any circumstances,
be viewed as a definitive reading of the regulation in question,
or of its implications for U.S. agricultural export trade
interests. In the event of a discrepancy or discrepancies
between this summary and the complete regulation or announcement
as published in Spanish, the latter shall prevail.
Title: Agreement to Create the Technical-Scientific
Committee of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural
Development, Fishery and Food with Regard to Genetically
Modified Organisms.
Type of Regulation: Agreement
Important Dates
1. Publication Date:
June 22, 2009
2. Effective Date: June 23, 2009
Products Affected: Genetically Modified Organisms
FAS/Mexico’s Executive Summary: On June 22, 2009, the
Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development,
Fishery and Food (SAGARPA) published in Mexico’s Diario
Oficial an Agreement to create the Technical and Scientific
Committee for Genetically Modified Organisms. According to the
agreement, the main objective of this committee is to support
SAGARPA in the analysis of petitions and notices related to
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in accordance with the
Bio-safety Law.
The specific objectives of this Committee are as follows:
a. Review, assess and issue technical opinions on the
potential risks that GMOs could have on animal, plant and
aquaculture health based on the risk analysis and the
results submitted by developers and administrative bodies;
b. Analyze the cases and situations that are submitted
for consideration in order to state a technical opinion on
the issuance of permits and notices for activities with GMOs
under the support of scientific, legal or technical studies;
c. Understand, discuss and issue technical opinions on
safety measures for implementation, based on technical,
legal and/or scientists studies;
d. Follow up on every issue related to GMOs, which is
under consideration;
e. Monitor, review, analyze and issue technical opinions
on the actions or omissions that warrant the imposition of
administrative penalties in accordance with the current
legislation.
The Committee will be headed by a President, who will be
designated by the Agriculture Secretariat, and an Executive
Director. Members of the Technical Committee will be
representatives of several SAGARPA areas: the Fisheries and
Aquaculture Scientific Commission; the Coordinator of
International Affairs; the National Institute of Forest,
Agriculture and Livestock Research; the National Institute of
Fisheries; the National Service of Seed Inspection and
Certification, the National Service of Agro Alimentary Health,
Safety and Quality and the Undersecretary of
Agriculture. Working Groups will be
created according to the knowledge and/or needs of each area
(technical, scientific and legal).
Additional public servants of SAGARPA
and other agencies or entities of the Executive Branch as well
as representatives of the private, academic or social sectors,
who are considered necessary by the Plenary Session of the
Scientific Technical Committee, shall be invited to participate
in committee activities. These guests will be able to voice
opinions but will not have voting privileges in any decisions.
Also, the agreement states that the
Members and Guests of the Scientific Technical Committee will be
responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all
information that passes through the committee. The agreements
emanating from the Scientific Technical Committee will be
communicated in writing through the Executive Adviser to the
administrative units of the responsible Secretariat.
Post Comments:
With the announcement of the Scientific-Technical Committee,
Mexico continues to gradually complete the steps needed to fully
implement the Bio-safety Law, which was passed by the Mexican
Congress in February 2005. The Bio-safety Law authorizes and
governs controlled plantings of GMOs. According to official
sources, this Committee will allow greater certainty regarding
the governmental scientific and technical requirements for the
controlled planting of GMOs so that producers and the industry
can more effectively plan their investments in biotechnology.
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