Iowa Corn Growers Win Dispute with Mexico Over GM Corn Ban

Dec 23, 2024

In a major win for corn growers, a dispute panel ruled today that Mexico violated its commitments under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) when it issued a decree that banned genetically modified corn imports in early 2023.

The decision was met with praise from Iowa Corn Growers Association farmer members along with our fellow state and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) corn farmers who had called on the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to file the dispute.

“Iowa’s farmers rely heavily on trade and corn exports to Mexico,” said Stu Swanson, Iowa Corn Growers Association President and farmer from Galt “That’s why we joined other state and NCGA grower leaders in pushing USTR to challenge this ban. Mexico is a key market for corn in all forms and it has been an important push to remove barriers to allow trade.”

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Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies