Browse Data and Analysis

Two years after the primary Precision Breeding legislation was passed, the UK government has published the secondary legislation needed to implement it.

Following the departure of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) in 2021 there was optimism that the UK would adopt a more scientific and proportionate approach to the regulation of genetically engineered (GE) and genetic technology products.

The legal and regulatory situation to allow the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Ecuador remains the same as 2023. Commercial cultivation of GE crops is not permitted, however cultivation for research is allowed and an exception exists for GE products without recombinant or foreign DNA in the genome.

On December 12, the Secretary of State (SOS) for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Steve Barclay announced draft legislation to stop products from illegal deforestation from being sold in the United Kingdom (UK).

On January 20, 2022, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador declared the unconstitutionality of article 56 of the Law on Seeds, Agrobiodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture, which allowed the President of the Republic to authorize the introduction of GE...

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act received Royal Assent on March 23, 2023, confirming it as an act of Parliament. The Act is the first phase of amending the United Kingdom’s (UK) regulatory framework for genetically engineered (GE)...

Since January 1, 2021, the UK has been responsible for authorizing products of genetic engineering (GE) using retained EU law. Eight GE crops are currently out for public consultation as part of the second tranche of approvals under the new UK...

The legal and regulatory situation to allow the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Ecuador remains relatively the same as 2021. Commercial cultivation of GE crops is not permitted, however cultivation for research is allowed and an exception exists for GE products without recombinant or foreign DNA in the genome. A ruling by Ecuador’s Constitutional Court in early 2022 now makes it more difficult for the President to authorize exceptions to the GE ban.

From January 1, 2021, the UK has been responsible for authorizing products of genetic engineering (GE) using retained EU law. Nine GE crops are currently out for public consultation as part of the new UK approval process, with a similar number still pending.

The legal and regulatory situation to allow the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Ecuador remains the same as 2020. Commercial cultivation of GE crops is not permitted, however cultivation for research is allowed and an exception exists for GE products without recombinant or foreign DNA in the genome.

The United Kingdom (UK) is approaching the end of the transition phase of departure from the European Union (EU).

As of October 2020, the legal and regulatory situation to allow the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Ecuador remains the same as 2019.