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US wins GMO corn trade dispute with Mexico

A Mexican decree banning imports of genetically modified (GM) corn for human consumption has been overturned in what has been hailed as a victory for US exports.

The US successfully argued Mexico’s measures lacked scientific basis and undermined market access.

Corn produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) has been at the centre of an ongoing trade debate between the US and Mexico. However, on 20 December 2024, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the US had prevailed in a United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute relating to biotechnology-led corn produce. The decision came after the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris US administration challenged specific measures concerning using biotechnology methods to manufacture genetically engineered (GE) corn. Click here to read the decree decision.

Hailing the ruling as a triumph for American agriculture, the decision in favour of scrapping the GM corn import ban, which first came into force following a decree signed by President Manuel Lopez Obrador, is welcomed by advocates, including the National Corn Growers Association, which had asked for USTR to file the dispute.

Mexico is the US’s largest export market for corn. Therefore, a significant trade relationship exists between the two countries for grain products that are popular for use in cereal. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the US delivered $4.8 million (€4.7m) of corn to Mexico between January and October 2024.

The history of the the corn dispute

Back in 2020, Mexico initially called for a ban on GM corn by the end of 2024. Then, in 2023, Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador released another decree banning GM corn for human consumption in tortillas and tortilla masa, traditionally white corn. The US then filed a dispute settlement under USMCA. The dispute panel found the Mexican government had violated its commitments under the USMCA after the Mexican president signed the decree to ban genetically modified (GM) corn imports.

However, while the current dispute’s history spans five years, its roots are reported to date back much further, marking two decades of discontentment. Longstanding worries have lingered on the ancient heritage-centered basis for corn in Mexico, with its presence a focal point of the country’s cultural, social and economic landscape.

“Mexico’s measures ran counter to decades’ worth of evidence demonstrating the safety of agricultural biotechnology, underpinned by science- and risk-based regulatory review systems,” said Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary.

Disputes relating to corn exports between the US and Mexican markets reached a crux in February 2023, when the former challenged two sets of measures in Mexico’s presidential corn decree. These stipulated an immediate ban on using GE corn in dough and tortillas and included instructions from Mexican government agencies to steadily remove the use of GE corn for other food and animal feed.

After these requests were made public, the US created the panel on 17th August 2023 under Chapter 31 of the USMCA. It brought six legal claims under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Chapter and one legal claim under the National Treatment and Market Access for Goods Chapter of the USMCA. These were documented in the US’s request to develop a dispute settlement panel.

“Mexico has always been a powerful partner to US corn growers and exporters, so when the country tried banning GM corn imports that would have severely affected our industry, we appreciated the extra effort the US Trade Representative gave in filing the dispute and seeing it through to its logical conclusion,” said Ryan LeGrand, president and CEO of the US Grains Council (USGC).

Correcting corn commitments

The panel presiding over the USMCA case agreed in favour of the US on all seven separate legal grounds. In reaching their conclusion, the USMCA panel said the approaches Mexico adopted lacked a scientific basis and undermined the market access it had agreed to provide the US with concerning the availability of its GMO corn products.

“The panel’s ruling reaffirms the United States’ longstanding concerns about Mexico’s biotechnology policies and their detrimental impact on US agricultural exports,” said Katherine Tai, US trade representative. “It underscores the importance of science-based trade policies that allow American farmers and agricultural producers to compete fairly and leverage their innovation to address climate change and enhance productivity.”

“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Mexican government to ensure a level playing field and provide access to safe, affordable, and sustainable agricultural products on both sides of the border,” added Tai.

Agricultural secretary, Tom Vilsack, believes the recent and final decision over the ongoing corn disputes will ensure US producers and exporters continue to have complete and fair access to the Mexican market. Additionally, it marks a win for the provision of fair, open, science- and rules-based trade. “It is also a victory for the countries around the world growing and using products of agricultural biotechnology to feed their growing populations and adapt to a changing planet,” added Vilsack.

Following the delivery of the final panel report on the 20th December 2024, under USMCA rules, Mexico has 45 days from this date to comply with its findings. USTR officials worked with the US Department of Agriculture, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the US Environmental Protection Agency to reach its final decision. The focus is now on ensuring that the trade bodies involved, namely the USGC and USTR, will work to retain the flow of US corn and its co-products into Mexico.

“This ruling is a critical step in ensuring that US farmers can continue to compete fairly in the global marketplace. We have worked tirelessly with the interagency and industry stakeholders for almost four years to address this issue, and we remain committed to ensuring Mexico complies with its obligations under the USMCA and eliminates its USMCA-inconsistent measures,” said Doug McKalip, US agricultural policy advisor and USTR ambassador.

“This outcome supports our efforts to maintain a strong, science-based trade relationship that benefits American producers and consumers in both the US and Mexico,” added McKalip.