Doing Business In (Insert Country Name Here) - BNA

A High Biotech Authority will succeed to this interim committee, as part of the biotech bill
that is expected to be adopted by the French Parliament in spring 2008.
The French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) [http://www.afssa.fr] is the French authority
that assesses risks of GMOs to human health under the Novel Foods Directive.
Biotech Production:
As of March 20, 2007, all biotech farmers must report their biotech acreage planted by
canton (administrative group of cities and villages) to the MinAg. This information is
made available to the public through the inter-ministerial biotech website at:
[http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/mise_marche/registre_cultures/registre_cultures.htm]
[http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/reglementation/decrets/arrete_19_mars_2007_declaration.pdf]
France transposed the EU Directive 2001/18 (EU framework on the release of biotech
products for both experimentation and commercialization) into French law on March 20,
2007, supplemented by two 'arrêtes' (complementary documents) relative to
environmental dissemination and commercialization of biotech products as well as
information gathering on biotech crop cultivation.
[http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/reglementation/decrets/decret_2007-358_expe.pdf]
[http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/reglementation/decrets/arrete_19_mars_2007_dossier.pdf]
Biotech products labeling and traceability:
France implemented the EU Novel Food/Novel Feed and Traceability and Labeling
Regulations on April 18, 2004, and the Fraud Control Office of the French Ministry of
Economy, Finance and Industry (DGCCRF) is the enforcing authority.
Trade Agreements Return to top
For a list of trade agreements with the EU and its Member States, as well as concise
explanations, please see [http://tcc.export.gov/Trade_Agreements/index.asp]
Web Resources Return to top
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
[http://www.ustr.gov/]
U.S. Mission to the EU (USEU)
[http://www.useu.be or http://useu.usmission.gov/]
Foreign Agricultural Service website, USEU
[http://www.useu.be/agri/usda.html]
Trade Compliance Center
[http://www.trade.gov/tcc]
2/15/2008 Country Commercial Guide for France 98
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. & FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
© 2007. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.