European union IMPORT TOLERANCES FOR CERTAIN PESTICIDES
TO ACHIEVE ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES IN THIRD
COUNTRIES – Specific Trade Concern 534

SUBMISSION BY THE UNITED STATES of america

The following submission, received on 31 March 2025, is the statement made by the United States of America at the 19-21 March 2025 WTO SPS Committee, and is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the United States of America.

_______________

1.  The United States remains disappointed with the European Union's lack of substantive engagement with Members relating to Commission Regulation 2023/334, which reduced maximum residue levels (MRLs) for the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam for environmental reasons associated with agricultural production in third countries.

2.  Since 2022, the United States and many WTO Members have repeatedly raised concerns that it is not scientifically justified to pursue global environmental policy objectives through the use of import MRLs.

3.  The United States appreciates that the European Union recognizes that its prescriptive, one‑size‑fits-all approach does not effectively address global environmental challenges. However, the United States remains disappointed that the European Union has not reconsidered its approach or provided a substantive response to the legitimate concerns raised in this Committee, including clarification of the requirements to approve import tolerance requests.

4.  Clothianidin and thiamethoxam are critically important to produce crops that are exported to the European Union from the United States and other WTO Members, and we are concerned that the reduction of MRLs for imported products is simply an attempt to address the concerns of European farmers who are no longer authorized to use these insecticides in the European Union and are concerned about competing with foreign producers.

5.  The United States is disappointed that the European Union has unilaterally decided that no alternatives exist without engaging third countries in discussions on possible alternative approaches to improving pollinator health. The United States notes the European Union has not yet provided empirical evidence to substantiate that there is "no alternative to the lowering of the MRLs of clothianidin and thiamethoxam".

6.  The United States urges the European Union to refrain from using pesticide MRLs to achieve domestic policy objectives unrelated to food safety and, instead, limit the use of MRLs to their intended purpose, which is to allow regulators to monitor the lawful applications of pesticides to ensure food safety for their consumers.

7.  The United States also wishes to reiterate that the 2018 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientific review for clothianidin and thiamethoxam established MRLs that were safe for consumers. We, therefore, repeat our request for the European Union to restore prior MRLs for clothianidin and thiamethoxam and refrain from additional attempts to use pesticide MRLs to achieve global environmental outcomes.

__________