Rep. Randy Feenstra, U.S. Representative for Iowa's 4th District | Twitter Website
Rep. Randy Feenstra, U.S. Representative for Iowa's 4th District | Twitter Website
U.S. Representatives Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Dan Kildee (D-MI), members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, have led a letter urging U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to engage with Mexico's newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum regarding Mexico’s ban on American corn imports.
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.”
They highlighted that corn was the largest agricultural export to Mexico in 2023, valued at over $5 billion. The lawmakers expressed concern about Mexico’s stance on U.S. GM corn, noting that a presidential decree issued in February 2023 modified a 2020 decree by prohibiting biotech corn in dough and tortilla production and aiming to phase 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,” they continued.
The letter 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 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,” they 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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