US Prevails in Trade Dispute Over Genetically Modified Corn
WASHINGTON — The United States has prevailed in a trade dispute with Mexico over the latter country’s move to immediately ban the use of genetically modified corn in dough and tortillas, and gradually eliminate it from other uses, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced.
According to a review panel established under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Mexico’s actions were not based on science and undermine the market access that Mexico agreed to provide under the USMCA.
“The panel’s ruling reaffirms the United States’ longstanding concerns about Mexico’s biotechnology policies and their detrimental impact on U.S. agricultural exports,” Tai said in a written statement.
“It underscores the importance of science-based trade policies that allow American farmers and agricultural producers to compete fairly and leverage their innovation to address climate change and enhance productivity,” she continued.
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Mexican government to ensure a level playing field and provide access to safe, affordable, and sustainable agricultural products on both sides of the border,” Tai added.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also commended the panel for its “thorough and impartial assessment” of the seven claims the U.S. filed against its neighbor to the south.
“Mexico’s measures ran counter to decades’ worth of evidence demonstrating the safety of agricultural biotechnology, underpinned by science- and risk-based regulatory review systems,” Vilsack said in a written statement.
“This decision ensures that U.S. producers and exporters will continue to have full and fair access to the Mexican market, and is a victory for fair, open, and science- and rules-based trade, which serves as the foundation of the USMCA as it was agreed to by all parties,” he said, adding that the ruling is also a victory “for the countries around the world growing and using products of agricultural biotechnology to feed their growing populations and adapt to a changing planet.”
The panel issued its final report on the matter on Dec. 20, and Mexico has 45 days from that date to comply with the findings.
The dispute arose six months after USMCA came into force in July 2020 when then-President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador decreed that GM corn be banned by the end of 2024. Current President Claudia Sheinbaum has supported the policy.
Tai asked for arbitration to settle the dispute and to consider six claims made under the sanitary and phytosanitary measures chapter of the trade agreement, and an additional legal claim under the national treatment and market access for goods chapter.
Between January and October 2024, the United States exported $4.8 billion of corn to Mexico, the United States’ largest export market for corn.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue
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