By Clayton Baumgarth
With just two weeks to go until the start of the new year, it appears Mexico will make true on its promise to ban the import of U.S. genetically modified corn beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
Chris Cherry, president of the Indiana Corn Growers Association, said it is likely the ban will be challenged by a USMCA dispute panel.
“While they're in disputes, maybe that timeline will get pushed back a little bit,” he said. “So, maybe it won't be a hard, fast January like they intended, since the USTR (United States Trade Representative) is kind of involved.”
In 2020, Mexico published a presidential decree phasing out the import of GM corn for human consumption by 2024. Then in 2023, the original decree was modified to outright ban it for human consumption and even elaborated that substitutes for animal feed would be explored in order to phase out the crop.
They are now only interested in white corn specifically, a crop which makes up between four and six percent of U.S. corn exports. Mexico will import yellow corn primarily from Brazil and Argentina to make up for the loss in U.S. imports.
Cherry, along with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, said that there is no scientifically based reason for Mexico to ban genetically modified corn.
“The EU has approved GM corn,” Cherry said. “And they historically have been our toughest, between the EU and China, getting approval in those countries has been the toughest. They understand the science behind it, and they've accepted it. We feel that it's not based on sound science.”
In 2022, the U.S. produced 13.7 billion bushels of corn, with Mexico bringing in three billion bushels of that total, making it the number one importer of the good.
“Mexico's overall grain exports are down around 12-13% in 2023, so that's a huge number,” he said. “When you're talking three billion bushels, and you take 12% off that, that's pretty big number. This will continue to get worse over time if they're banning this outright.”
Cherry said the reason U.S. corn growers rely heavily on GM corn is due to the ease and affordability of growing the crop.
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