Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the U.S. government may take formal steps to enforce its legal rights under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement considering Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s plans to ban import of biotech corn and other biotechnology products.
Vilsack released a statement Nov. 28 following his meeting with López Obrador “on the U.S.- Mexico bilateral trade relationship and its importance for U.S. farmers, ranchers and producers,” according to a Nov. 28 news release. Vilsack said López Obrador has a 2020 decree to “phase out the use and importation of biotech corn and other biotechnology products by January 2024.”
“The president’s phase-out decree has the potential to substantially disrupt trade, harm farmers on both sides of the border and significantly increase costs for Mexican consumers,” Vilsack said in the release. “We must find a way forward soon, and I emphasized in no uncertain terms that – absent acceptable resolution of the issue – the U.S. government would be forced to consider all options, including taking formal steps to enforce our legal rights under the USMCA.”
Mexico’s import ban would put a burden on U.S. farmers and cause “massive” economic losses for agricultural industries and citizens in Mexico, Vilsack said in the release. U.S. farmers are “deeply concerned about the decree.”
“The decree would also have significant impact on the U.S.-Mexico trade relationship, which hit a record value of more than $63 billion in two-way trade in 2021 and is expected to be even higher in 2022,” Vilsack said, according to the release. “The phase-out of biotechnology products, as outlined in the decree, could also stifle the important innovations we need to help our farmers adapt to a changing climate.”
Although time is running short for resolution of the issue, progress has been made, Vilsack said in the release.
“For example, President López Obrador reaffirmed the importance of yellow corn imports for Mexico’s food security. He also discussed a potential process in which we can exchange information and engage in dialogue assuring the safety of biotechnology products,” Vilsack said in the release. “We expect to have a proposal from the president’s team soon, and we will evaluate closely. While we do not have a solution in hand, we will continue to engage with Mexico on this important issue.”
