The Seeds of a Successful Trade Policy

As the multi-national Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations resume this week in Dallas, and World Trade Week begins on May 21, it's time to focus on one of the U.S.'s trade success stories: agriculture, and specifically genetically modified (GM) seeds.

The U.S. has led the world in the creation and production of GM seeds.  The Monsanto Co. initiated the movement in 1996 with the release of its Roundup Ready soybean seeds, which are resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. 

Since then, several seed manufacturers have jumped into the market, developing new gene traits that make seeds more pest or drought resistant. And they have been "stacking" those traits, putting several in the same seed.

As a result, GM seeds are quickly becoming the dominant seed product for certain crops.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there were about 366 million acres of GM crops worldwide in 2010, up about 10 percent from 2009.

However, as the patents on the gene traits begin to expire-Monsanto's Roundup Ready patent will expire in 2014-the seed industry is looking for a way to move to generic versions.

The good news is that, unlike the pharmaceutical industry, where Congress imposed an adversarial process when brand name drugs moved to generic versions, the seed industry has been working to create a smooth transition based on negotiations and licensing agreements.

It's important that that process moves forward quickly if there is to be no interruption in agricultural trade. Gene stacking could alter a plant's characteristics, posing a threat that a single modification might not pose.  In order for other countries to assess the risk, they want access to the data behind stacked products.

Food is one of the country's top exports. Yet foreign concerns over genetically modified food has resulted in a very delicate balance.  Other countries want to know what farmers are growing and how GM seeds could affect their own agricultural industry and if there are any human health concerns. 

So far the agricultural industry has become a model for how to make the transition from a patented to a generic. That should be a major benefit as the TPP and other trade negotiations move forward.