The United States is on the verge of filing a formal complaint with the WTO over Europe’s refusal to admit new biotech food products. For this, today’s otherwise good Washington Post story says the U.S. may be about to “launch a trade battle” with Europe over the matter. It’s true that a WTO filing would escalate trade tensions–but it’s also important to remember that Europe started this conflict four years ago, when it imposed its biotech-food moratorium. The matter continues to be controversial because the Europeans lean on junk science and the so-called “precautionary principle” to justify their position. This is a “trade battle” of their own making, not ours.