The United States is threatening to start a trade dispute with Mexico if countries do not reach an agreement on trade in genetically modified corn, a senior U.S. government official said, Dow Jones news agency reports. Mexico plans to ban the import of GM Corn by 2024, adding another critical point to trade tensions between the two nations.

More than 90% of corn grown in the United States is genetically modified, according to the National Corn Growers Association. The Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, Tom Vilsack, met with the Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in Mexico, last on Monday (28), in an effort to resolve the dispute.

In a later statement, Vilsack said that if an agreement is not signed, "the United States government would be forced to consider all options, including taking formal steps to enforce our legal rights" under the Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada (USMCA). This agreement, which entered into force in 2020, was designed to ensure a level playing field between the three countries and provide a framework for dispute resolution.

Mexico maintains restrictions on transgenic corn

López Obrador said on Tuesday (29) that Mexico maintains its ban on genetically modified corn for human consumption, but that offered to extend the term of yellow corn for animal feed by two years while its content is being studied.

"We are self-sufficient in white corn and we will not allow the import of yellow corn for human consumption," the President of Mexico said. The ban applies to both yellow and white corn. Mexico imports much of its yellow corn to feed livestock. Both sides said they hoped the countries would be able to reach a common agreement.

Mexico was the second-largest market for U.S. corn exports in 2021, with spending of $4.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). China alone surpasses the country, having bought nearly $5.1 billion last year.

Source: Canal Rural