U.S. approaching USMCA dispute with Mexico over GMO corn

By TIMOTHY EGGERT
FarmWeek

The ongoing trade dispute between the United States and Mexico over the country’s policies to ban genetically modified corn intensified after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) called for a dispute panel under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

USTR’s announcement comes after officials Aug. 16 passed a 75-day deadline to reach a resolution through USMCA dispute consultations.

“The United States has used the tools provided by the USMCA in attempting to resolve concerns with Mexico’s biotechnology measures,” USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai said in a statement. “Today the United States is taking the next step in enforcing Mexico’s obligations under the USMCA.”

Once formed, the three-member dispute panel will have 120 days to file an initial report. That work will be focused on the decree that Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador released in February. It declared his country would immediately ban GM white corn used in tortillas and dough, while directing government agencies to gradually substitute the use of GM yellow corn in all animal feed and products for human consumption.

The U.S. is Mexico’s primary supplier of feed corn — nearly all of it is genetically modified — and in 2022 exported 15.4 million metric tons of corn to the country, according to USDA data. Annual white corn imports into Mexico total about 1.6 million tons.

Tai’s office contends both the decree’s white corn and yellow corn measures each violate the same seven USMCA provisions, according to a copy of the dispute panel request.

“Through the USMCA dispute panel, we seek to resolve our concerns and help ensure consumers can continue to access safe and affordable food and agricultural products,” Tai said.

“It is critical that Mexico eliminate its USMCA-inconsistent biotechnology measures so that American farmers can continue to access the Mexican market and use innovative tools to respond to climate and food security challenges.”

Mexico’s Ministry of Economy in a statement released Aug. 24 said it does not agree with the U.S. position and was prepared to demonstrate to the panel “that the national regulation is consistent with the commitments signed in the (USMCA)” and “that the challenged measures do not have commercial effects.”

American officials for months have consistently said the Mexican policies lack scientific basis and limits American farmers’ access to the Mexican grain market.

Their concern was specifically addressed in March when Tai, along with other top U.S. ag and trade officials, requested “technical consultations” with Mexican officials under the USMCA’s sanitary and phytosanitary chapter.

The talks did not lead to a resolution, and the USTR office requested the dispute consultations in June.

“Mexico’s approach to biotechnology is not based on science and runs counter to decades’ worth of evidence demonstrating its safety and the rigorous, science-based regulatory review system that ensures it poses no harm to human health and the environment,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said Aug. 24.

The dispute settlement panel, Vilsack said, will ensure U.S. producers and exporters have “full and fair access to the Mexican market,” adding the U.S. “will continue to support fair, open, science- and rules-based trade, which serves as the foundation of USMCA as it was agreed to by all parties.”

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) applauded USTR’s request, with NCGA President Tom Haag saying the organization is “deeply appreciative” of Tai for “standing up for America’s corn growers.”

“Mexico’s decree, which runs counter to scientific findings and is in direct violation of USMCA, is negatively impacting American corn growers,” Haag said in a statement. “U.S. officials have exhausted every avenue trying to resolve this conflict and are left with no other choice but to turn to a third-party panel in hopes of quickly rectifying this issue.”

American Farm Bureau Federation also welcomed the USTR move.

“Mexico’s ban on bioengineered corn is not only a clear violation of USMCA, it also ignores science and denies families in Mexico safe and affordable food,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement.

“America’s farmers are upholding their obligations by meeting demand while achieving important sustainability goals. Mexico must do the same.”

 

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.