Mexican (left) and US (right) flags. Photo: Sputnik.
United States Senators Joni K. Ernst and Charles E. Grassley asked the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai to activate a process against Mexico within the framework of the USMCA, due to Mexico’s policy of banning imports of transgenic and genetically modified (GM) corn.
In a letter, the US legislators proposed that, in the event where no agreement is reached with the Mexican authorities, a dispute resolution panel would be set up, as was the case with Mexico’s energy reform.
According to the document, both senators say they are concerned about the promise made by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), to prohibit imports of genetically modified corn by 2024.
According to the legislators, Mexico’s plans contravene the Mexico–United States–Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA, known as T–MEC in Mexico and CUSMA in Canada). The two Republican senators also pointed out that the policy prohibiting GM corn would affect Iowa, the leading US state in corn production and an annual exporter of 16 million tons to Mexico.
“President Obrador’s decree is not only a failure for American farmers, it is also impossible to implement,” they stated. “92% of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified (GM). Even assuming that seeds could be obtained that were not genetically modified, growers in Iowa and across the United States are already requesting bags of seed for spring 2023 planting.”
US lawmakers assert that, given the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia that continues to affect grain supplies, it is necessary to remove “arbitrary barriers.”
“We respectfully call on you to formally request dispute settlement consultations in accordance with Article 31.4 of the T-MEC,” stated the senators.
Mexico’s legislation
In response to great demand within Mexico from agricultural workers and campesinos, as one of the early significant acts of his presidency, AMLO signed new legislation at the end of 2020 to prohibit genetically modified corn, due to the damage it causes to Mexican biodiversity, in which up to 62 varieties of native corn coexist.
Currently, only genetically modified yellow corn can be brought into Mexico for the purpose of feeding livestock; however, the goal is that by 2024 there will be a total ban on any type of GM corn. This prohibition was supported by more than 300 peasant, Indigenous, and environmental organizations that came together in the national campaign “Without corn there is no country.”
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However, the measure has not been well received in the US, as it alleges that the plan will seriously affect the US economy. Rejecting genetically modified corn could set a precedent that would affect the US agriculture industry, heavily reliant on GM.
According to estimates by World Perspectives Inc., the total ban on any type of transgenic corn in Mexican territory would have a large economic impact; estimated losses represent between $3.5 to $5.5 billion by 2026.
(Sputnik) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
