Biotech Updates

Guatemala and Honduras Send Draft Biotechnology Regulation to WTO

December 5, 2018

Guatemala sent its draft biotechnology regulation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on May 29, 2018. The same draft regulation was notified by Honduras on June 5, 2018, with both countries agreeing to harmonize their Genetically Engineered (GE) regulation under the Guatemalan-Honduras Customs Union framework.

The draft GE regulation submitted to the WTO by Guatemala and Honduras seeks to harmonize the testing and commercialization of GE plants and animals. Both Guatemala and Honduras are signatories to the Cartagena Protocol, and the draft regulation is a reflection of the text proposed by the Protocol. The final regulation needs to be approved by the Ministry of Economy in Guatemala and the Secretariat of Economic Development in Honduras.

Guatemala as a WTO member supported the recent "International Statement on Agricultural Applications of Precision Biotechnology in Geneva at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures" on November 2, 2018. Honduras also supported the Statement.

For more details, read the USDA FAS GAIN Report.