POLITICO provides update on Mexico's ban on GE corn imports

Date:12-20-2022

POLITICO reports:

Top Biden administration officials said Friday that they are reviewing a set of proposals from Mexican officials aimed at resolving a growing dispute over a decree issued by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2020 that threatens to cut off U.S. corn exports to that country, our Doug Palmer writes.

To read his entire report click here.

"The Mexican delegation presented some potential amendments to the decree in an effort to address our concerns," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a joint statement. "We agreed to review their proposal closely and follow up with questions or concerns in short order. There is a joint recognition that time is of the essence and we must determine a path forward soon."

Remember: López Obrador's decree plans to phase out all genetically modified corn imports for human consumption by 2024. It also plans to phase out glyphosate, a commonly used weedkiller in crop production. Mexico has also failed to approve authorizations and import permits for biotech goods since 2018, furthering concern. Vilsack recently traveled to Mexico City and told López Obrador "in no uncertain terms" that the U.S. will take steps to formally challenge the country's biotech corn import ban if a resolution can't be reached.

Details: The issue is critical to U.S. corn producers, since Mexico is the second largest export market for their crop. However, it would force López Obrador to back track on a high-profile pledge to phase out all imports of genetically-modified corn for human consumption by 2024. Most corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified.

The Mexican delegation that met with U.S. officials last Friday at the U.S. Agriculture Department included Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, Agriculture Secretary Victor Manuel Villalobos, Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary María Luisa Albores González and other officials.

"There was candid conversation about our deep concerns around the restrictions of the importation of biotech corn and other biotechnology products stemming from President López Obrador's 2020 decree," Tai and Vilsack said in the statement, which did not include details on Mexico's proposal.