EU non-renewal of the approval of the active substance thiacloprid
– Specific Trade Concern 585

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.

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1.  The United States remains concerned that the European Commission retracted a 2023 regulation, which maintained existing thiacloprid MRLs that correspond to existing Codex MRLs or were derived from import tolerances following EFSA's 2023 scientific assessment that found them to be safe for consumers.

2.  Thiacloprid is no longer approved for use in the European Union, and the United States is concerned that the European Commission appears to be taking this regulatory action at the instruction of the European Parliament following a failure of member States to reach a required qualifying majority to adopt science-based MRLs for thiacloprid.

3.  The United States would like to urge the European Union to provide a scientific justification for its MRL reductions. The United States notes that the EU's hazard-based cut-off criteria, including for substances that may have endocrine disrupting properties, are not a part of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 governing the establishment of pesticide MRLs.

4.  The United States remains concerned that consideration of the hazard-based cutoff criteria is not an appropriate justification for the reduction of these MRLs and encourages the European Union to revert to the originally proposed, science-based MRLs for thiacloprid.

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