Feenstra, Kildee Lead Letter Urging USDA and USTR to Engage with Newly Elected Mexican President over Mexico’s Ban on American Corn Imports
HULL, IOWA – Today, U.S. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Dan Kildee (D-MI) – members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee – led a letter with 19 of their colleagues urging U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to continue to engage with the newly elected President of Mexico – Claudia Sheinbaum – over Mexico’s ban on American corn imports and other trade barriers.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote, “Today, October 1, 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum will be sworn in as the President of Mexico for a six-year term following her election on June 2. With this change in leadership, we strongly urge you to engage with the incoming administration in Mexico to address ongoing trade disputes under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), including Mexico’s ban on genetically modified (GM) corn.”
“Specifically, our biggest agricultural export to Mexico in 2023 was corn – with the total value exported registering at more than $5 billion – yet we remain concerned about Mexico’s stance on U.S. GM corn. As you are aware, this current dispute began in February 2023 with a presidential decree that modified a 2020 decree, not based in science, that included an immediate prohibition on the use of biotech corn in Mexico’s dough and tortilla production with the long-term goal of phasing out biotech corn in all products for human consumption and animal feed. With over 90% of the corn in the U.S. grown with GM varieties, this decree has created massive uncertainty for our farmers, businesses, and seed developers since the original decree in 2020,” the lawmakers continued.
The lawmakers also requested a briefing from USTR on the status of the dispute with Mexico over the GM corn ban and preparations for the 2026 review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“Additionally, with a review of USMCA due in 2026, it is imperative to develop a close working relationship with President Sheinbaum. We understand that Julio Berdegue Sacristan, Mexico’s incoming Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the new administration will abandon their goal of reducing yellow corn imports, commonly used in animal feed,” the lawmakers noted. “However, both the Decree and Mexico’s regulation to ban GM corn (NOM-187) remain in place, and related legislation could advance in Mexico’s legislature. We remain concerned with the effects of Mexico’s policies to ban GM corn for both human consumption and animal feed since U.S. exporters face legal uncertainty which jeopardizes access to the market.”
The full letter can be found HERE.
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