U.S.-Mexico GM corn dispute to be resolved in 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Mexico trade dispute over the Latin American country’s plans to restrict imports of genetically modified corn is expected to be resolved this year.

Chief agricultural negotiator Doug McKalip, with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), told attendees of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s Winter Policy Conference Feb. 7 that the panel is in place and arguments have been scheduled for later in 2024 in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade dispute.

In August, the U.S. requested a dispute panel after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador issued a decree banning the use of biotech corn in all products for human consumption and for animal feed, arguing it threatens the country’s native corn varieties and could pose a threat to human health. The U.S. maintains Mexico’s measures are not based on science and undermine the market access it agreed to provide in the USMCA.

A tentative schedule was published for the USMCA dispute, with hearings taking place this summer and the final report issued in late fall. Mexico also has a presidential election this summer in which Claudia Sheinbaum is considered the frontrunner and may have different views on the dispute.

“This USMCA case is about a lot more than just biotech corn,” McKalip said. “It’s about making sure that nations adhere to the provisions of the trade agreements that they’ve already signed. And it’s about making sure that we stick to science as the underpinning of trade, not allow countries to run political processes or to pick and choose winners and losers out of the agricultural commodities that are traded back and forth.”

The U.S. exported corn to Mexico totaling $4.792 billion in 2022, with about 17 million metric tons of yellow corn crossing the border annually. And despite the trade dispute, Mexico has secured a record volume of U.S. corn for shipment this year.

Trade updates

After two years of record farm exports and several years of record farm income, the Biden administration “recognizes that we need to do everything we can to make sure everyone benefits from agricultural trade, that the farmer sees the difference at the farm gate and that everyone truly is able to participate and realize the benefits,” McKalip said.

Even with $200 billion in ag exports last year, only about four or five markets around the globe have been responsible for where those commodities go, he added.

“And under 20% of U.S. farmers have been involved in getting about 89% of the export dollars,” he said. “So that means we need to do everything we can to find new markets, make sure that we are diversifying, make sure that all commodities all profit and are able to be successful with agricultural trading.”

McKalip shared a handful of trade updates from the past year, including:

• India dropped tariffs on a lengthy list of commodities, including: pecans, industrial ethanol, apples, turkey, duck, blueberries, cranberries, peas and lentils, almonds and walnuts. “There’s a lot more work to do with India. We will certainly keep a very tight dialogue going on with India on a variety of agricultural commodities,” he said.
• The U.S. is “deep in the negotiations” with Kenya on an agricultural agreement. “In fact, the last round just wrapped up last week, and we are setting our sights on getting an agriculture agreement chapter in place in the very near future.”
• McKalip recently took part in a dialogue with 30 African countries and hosted a breakout session specifically targeted for agricultural products. “And we had really excellent turnout, and very deep interest on the part of many African countries on how they can deepen their trade relationships with us on farm products, and ultimately get more U.S.-grown products into those fast-growing African markets.”
• Keeping trade moving in China has been an important step in light of the country’s difficult economy. Conversations are ongoing about the need to establish longer term agreements and more permanent transparency to ensure a disruption of trade doesn’t occur with China.
• Japan recently allowed the U.S. to capture up to 100% of its ethanol market. “This is a really, really big win for us,” McKalip said. “That is a potential bump up of around 80 million gallons of biofuel to the country. And that comes along with the fact that they recently revised their beef tariff to allow more U.S. beef in the market.”

McKalip stressed that more than 30 countries have removed barriers to trade with the U.S. in the past year.

Tammie Sloup, FarmWeekNow

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Tammie Sloup is a general assignment editor for FarmWeek and FarmWeekNow.com. A native of Ottawa, Ill., the Eastern Illinois University alum previously worked as a regional editor for Shaw Media.

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