Interpretation of Precautionary Principle in Trade Disputes between the EU and the US

The understanding of two different approaches to the interpretation of precautionary principle is crucial for the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to avoid possible trade disputes between the European Union and the United States in the future. In the past, the European Union lost its case on the defence of "its precautionary principle" against the United States in a trade dispute resolved by the World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body concerning genetically modified organisms. The aim of this paper is to clarify the understanding of precautionary principle on both sides of the Atlantic, analysing and comparing both, the case-law of the World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body (adopting the United States' approach) and that of the Court of Justice of the European Union.