A trade dispute panel has ruled that restrictions placed by Mexico on genetically modified (GM) corn exports from the USA violate the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, World Grain wrote.
The three-member panel ruled in favour of all seven US legal claims, saying the restrictions were not based on science and violated the USMCA’s chapters on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and on market access, the 23 December report said.
The dispute started in 2020 when Mexico called for a ban of GM corn by the end of 2024, claiming it was harmful to human health.
After former Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador signed a decree banning GM corn imports in 2023, the US Trade Representative requested arbitration to settle the dispute, challenging Mexico’s decree that immediately banned use of GM corn in tortillas and dough and instructed government agencies to gradually eliminate its use in other foods and in animal feed.
With Mexico accounting for almost 50% of total annual US corn export sales, US corn growers welcomed the decision.
“This is an incredible development for the nation’s corn growers and rural communities,” Kenneth Hartman Jr, president of the National Corn Growers Association and an Illinois farmer was quoted as saying.
US Grains Council president Ryan LeGrand added: “Mexico has always been a powerful partner to US corn growers and exporters, so when the country tried banning GM corn imports that would have severely affected our industry.”
Although Mexico’s economy and agriculture ministries issued a joint statement saying they were disappointed by the ruling, they said they would respect it.
“The government of Mexico does not agree with the panel’s decision, as it considers that the measures in question are aligned with the principles of public health protection and the rights of Indigenous peoples,” the agencies said.
Following the ruling on 20 December, Mexico has 45 days to bring its corn-trade policies into compliance with the trade agreement. Failure to do so under the 2020 USMCA’s trade deal’s rules could result in punitive duties on some exports to the USA, World Grain wrote.
On average, Mexico imports around 17M tonnes/year of US corn, with a value of around US$3bn/year, according to the report.
