USDA Releases Plan Easing Rules On Genetically Engineered Crops

The Trump administration would exempt many new genetically engineered crops from regulation by USDA under a broad overhaul of biotechnology rules announced on Wednesday. USDA said the move would cut the cost of developing genetically engineered plants and would exempt crops with traits “similar in kind” to modifications that could be produced through traditional breeding techniques.

Developers would be allowed to make a “self-determination” that their products are exempt from regulation. The administration argued the approach will allow regulators to focus on "increasingly complex products which, in turn, may pose new types of risks.”

USDA estimated the proposal would save developers an average of $3.6 million for each new genetically engineered crop, if the product is not also regulated by the Food & Drug Administration or Environmental Protection Agency. If another government agency also regulates the plant, the average savings would drop to $730,000.

“This common sense approach will ultimately give farmers more choices in the field and consumers more choices at the grocery store,” Greg Ibach, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, said in a statement.