•VIOLATION: The López Obrador administration’s decision to phase-out the use of genetically modified corn for human consumption by 2024 could put US corn exports to Mexico at risk and would be a violation of trade terms the new USMCA agreement, agriculture specialists warn.
•UNCLEAR: Valued at US $2.7 billion in 2019, US corn has entered Mexico tariff and quota-free since 2008. Per US government estimates, 95 percent of US corn exports to Mexico were mostly genetically-modified yellow corn used primarily for livestock feed.
•IMPLICATIONS: “Any government ban on the importation of corn from the US is a violation of the USMCA and could generate serious consequences for the (Mexican) economy and for the political and commercial relationship between both countries”, said GCMA, an agricultural consulting firm.
•SUFFICIENCY: According to GCMA estimates, US exports cover around 40 percent of Mexico’s annual corn needs mostly catering to a growing livestock and poultry industry. In the decree announcing the phase-out, it was unclear whether corn for livestock feed would be covered.
