Latest News From Mexico

In Mexico, corn is much more than a food crop—it's a key part of the country's heritage, culture and traditions. Mexico argues glyphosate and GMOs are dangerous to human health, and seeks alternative practices.

During a bilateral meeting on Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai discussed with Mexico's Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier various issues concerning energy and biotech corn.

Representatives from the U.S., Mexico and Canada will meet in Cancun, Mexico this week to discuss a series of disputes, including Mexican energy and biotech policies and Canadian dairy barriers.

Mexico reached an agreement with food manufacturers to use only non-GMO corn in tortilla production across the country. The government says it plans to implement new import tariffs on white corn imports.

Over the 29 years of free trade, U.S. ag exports to Mexico increased both in terms of volume and value, although there were some years where growth was not positive.

“We fundamentally disagree with the position Mexico has taken on the issue of biotechnology, which has been proven to be safe for decades,” said Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary.

According to researchers at Ohio State University, most U.S. states will experience a “limited effect” of the dispute in the short term. But the long-term could significantly impact states such as Illinois.

The U.S. and Mexican governments will initiate consultations under USMCA to attempt to resolve disagreements over a Mexican decree limiting imports of corn with biotech traits.

By requesting consultations, the U.S. Trade Representative began a process to come to a settlement on ag biotechnology imports to Mexico. If a settlement is not reached, the issue will move to a full-blown trade dispute.

Mexico is accusing the U.S. of playing politics over the GMO corn issue, but NCGA CEO Neil Caskey says if Mexico wants non-GMO, they'll need to pay a premium for it instead of violating a trade pact already in place. 

The U.S. appears to be pursuing a case via USMCA on the matter: “That is going to happen, because we're essentially in a circumstance where this is not a situation that lends itself to a compromise,” Vilsack said.

Mexico's new decree will indicate that if U.S. GMO corn passes the sanitary filters of the Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), it will have no problem entering Mexico.

“With 90% of corn acreage in the U.S. being planted to biotech seeds and Mexico being the number one purchaser of U.S. corn, I'm concerned this decree is not being met with urgency it deserves,” said Sen. Grassley.

While Mexico wants to reduce its imports of corn by 30% to 40% by 2024, Mexico's Deputy Ag Minister Victor Suarez told reporters that it cannot replace its imports of U.S. corn for livestock feed.

U.S. officials told Mexico its approach on biotech crops are still “not grounded in science," and will face a USMCA battle if the matter is not resolved.

Mexico and Canada had challenged the U.S. method for calculating the regional content required under the USMCA trade pact for cars to have tariff-free access to the U.S.

Mexican President López Obrador hosted President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau this week to discuss everything from methane reduction to the U.S./Mexico border wall.

"We agreed to review their proposal closely and follow up with questions or concerns," said Tai and Vilsack in a joint statement.

Mexican Secretary of Economy Raquel Buenrostro told reporters in Mexico Wednesday the decree to bar imports of GMO crops into Mexico will be pushed back to 2025.

Vilsack urged Mexico to "find a way forward" and said that if Mexico's plans went unchanged, the U.S. government would be forced to consider all options, including legal action under the USMCA.

Bayer is partnering with Israeli artificial intelligence data analytics company Prospera Technologies Inc. in a program the companies say will optimize profitability and sustainability of greenhouse growing.

President Donald Trump said he would terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement and sign a new trade accord with Mexico, potentially leaving Canada out of the bloc.

Paul Ryan says he needs notice of a NAFTA deal by May 17 if the current Congress is going to be able to vote on it, suggesting talks are pushing up against the constraints of American trade law.

A deal on a new NAFTA is close at hand but talks to arrive at a finishing point are not easy, top Mexican officials said on Thursday as ministers met in Washington for a third successive day.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was in no rush for negotiators to finish NAFTA talks but he thinks they are getting pretty close to a deal.