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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Government-run “wellness stores,” modernized irrigation systems, and programs to expand production of beans, rice and white corn are among a slate of policies unveiled Tuesday by Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
Mexico’s attempts to rid the country of genetically modified corn from the U.S. could ultimately be put in the hands of a third-party dispute panel, and both sides are counting on science and common sense to prevail.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador may have thought he was offering a reasonable compromise when he told U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that Mexico would remain open to importing genetically modified feed corn, but American farmers don’t see it that way.
Mexico is willing to make a deal to annually exempt U.S. feed corn from a coming ban on genetically modified corn, but no deal is being considered on white corn for direct human consumption, according to a statement issued by the office of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The Agriculture Department reduced its fiscal 2023 forecast for U.S. ag exports to $190 billion, a $3.5 billion drop from the agency’s last estimate in August, largely reflecting weaker expectations for soybean sales.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack personally warned Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador against banning genetically modified corn and later said the Biden administration expects to receive a proposal soon from Mexico on how to “engage in dialogue assuring the safety of biotechnology products.”
The U.S. corn sector has been adamant that it cannot easily or quickly shift to producing non-GMO corn to comply with an upcoming Mexican ban, but Brazilian and Argentine farmers are also telling Mexico that it’s mistaken if it thinks it can rely on them to make up for the coming loss of U.S. supplies.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday dismissed a dire forecast of Mexico slashing corn imports from the U.S. because of a scheduled Mexican ban on genetically modified corn.
Mexico has not publicly ruled on genetically modified plant traits in the four years since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took power, but the country’s health regulator Cofepris has been quietly approving and rejecting traits with an apparent bias against glyphosate-resistant corn seeds, according to U.S. government and industry sources.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has rejected a petition from lawmakers to conduct a Section 301 investigation into claims that U.S. fruits and vegetables are suffering from unfair imports flowing in from Mexico, but the Biden administration says it still wants to help U.S. farmers.
