04/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - De Gucht fears trade war with US over cloned meat. The EU risks entering a large-scale trade war with the United States if the EU27 decide to ban the import of meat from the offspring of cloned animals, warned EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht in an address to the international trade committee at the European Parliament on Thursday 3 March. The EU is currently examining the option of authorising Novel Foods like meat from cloned animals and their offspring. The Council of Ministers and the European Commission like the idea of cloned meat but the European Parliament is calling for a five-year ban. Although he admitted the importance of ethical issues surrounding such genetic engineering on Thursday, De Gucht said that a total ban would cause the EU problems at the WTO. (E.H./transl.fl)