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The dispute between the United States and Mexico deepened on Monday (Nov 28, 2022) over the latter's plan to ban imports of genetically modified corn by 2024. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned Mexico's president that the US would be forced to take legal action if an acceptable resolution was not reached.
Mexico argues that genetically modified seeds threaten its own ancient indigenous corn varieties. But on Tuesday (November 29, 2022), Mexico's president said he would seek a deal with the United States.
A ban would have a "significant impact" on US-Mexico trade, Mr. Vilsack had earlier warned. Mexico is the second-largest importer of corn in the world after China, and much of the corn it buys comes from the United States. But this ban could result in Mexico halving its US imports of yellow corn, a Mexican minister told news agency Reuters last month.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador issued a
presidential decree on 31 December 2020 calling for genetically modified (GM)
corn for human consumption to be phased out by the end of January 2024.
The decree caused huge concern among US corn exporters and with the deadline approaching, efforts by the US to sway President López Obrador to drop or soften the planned ban have increased. On Monday, Mr. Vilsack met President López Obrador in Mexico and told him of the "deep concerns" US farmers had.
"We must find a way forward soon," Mr. Vilsack
said, warning that the US "would be forced to consider all options,
including taking formal steps to enforce our legal rights under the
USMCA", referring to free trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and
Canada.
Banning GM corn was one of the Mexican president's campaign
promises. Earlier this month, he insisted Mexico was a "sovereign free
country" and "we don't want GM".
Mr. López Obrador argues that there is a lack of scientific investigation into the effects of genetically modified corn on Mexico's native varieties of corn. Mexico prides itself on being the place where humans first began domesticating corn thousands of years ago, and the country boasts dozens of heirloom varieties of corn.
But it relies heavily on US imports of yellow corn to feed its cattle and produce a sauce. On Tuesday, President López Obrador insisted that GMO corn for animal feed would still be allowed because the ban only applies to corn intended for human consumption.
Source:
Online/SZK
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