US Trade Representative Katherine Tai in a file picture Drew Angerer (Getty Images)
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced Monday that she has asked Mexico to start technical consultations to resolve a ban imposed on transgenic corn by the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Office of Tai (USTR, for its English acronym) believes that the restrictions imposed by decree in Mexico, which only apply to corn intended for human consumption, are not based on scientific evidence. Mexico buys about $3,000 million in GM crops annually.
This is the second consultation request USTR has opened with Mexico. In July, the White House launched a first front to settle their differences over López Obrador’s energy policy, which restricts private company participation in order to give state-owned companies a dominant position in the market. For their part, Mexico and Canada were successful in the process they launched against the United States in 2021 to interpret rules of origin for export products.
“Mexico’s policies threaten to disrupt billions of dollars in agricultural trade and, if not addressed, will stifle the innovation needed to address the climate crisis and food security challenges,” Tai said in a statement. “We hope these consultations will be productive as we continue to work with Mexico to address these issues,” he concluded.
The free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, the TMEC, offers countries a first stage of technical consultations to resolve their disputes. If this fails, countries can refer the matter to an independent panel of experts composed of experts chosen by the countries themselves. If it rules against Mexico, the US could impose tariffs on products heavily impacted by the US market.
“As this secretariat has repeatedly emphasized, the aim of the decree is to preserve that the tortilla is made with native corn, thus ensuring the preservation of the biodiversity of the more than 64 varieties of corn that exist in the country, 59 of which are are endemic,” Mexico’s Economy Ministry said in a statement on Monday. “The Economy Ministry will work hand-in-hand with the Federal Commission for Health Risk Protection (Cofepris) and other relevant agencies to coordinate the Mexican state’s position in order to reach a mutually satisfactory solution find.”
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS México newsletter and receive all the important information about current events in this country