Earlier this week, we talked with Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig about the proposal Mexico had offered to walk back the GMO ban on yellow corn temporarily and ban its growth in only their country. This was met with skepticism and calls that it was still a violation of the United States ? Mexico ? Canada Agreement (USMCA) and that no matter what the levels were, it wasn?t going to change that.
Apparently, that message was heard loud and clear in Mexico. They decided to change their mind again on the ban, which was originally supposed to be put in place in 2024, then walked back early last week, to now put it in place effective last Friday. If they thought the chatter about USMCA arbitration proceedings was loud after their first suggestion, it is now a furious uproar from the United States.
Brian Kuehl is the Executive Director of Farmers for Free Trade. He talks about what he calls a very confusing situation.
Kuehl says that this doesn?t just affect the United States. It affects anyone shipping corn to Mexico. So, it isn?t just a USMCA dispute, but a global one.
Kuehl says that Mexico is signaling to the United States that they have no respect for the USMCA, they have no intention of living up to the terms, and that they want a trade war with the United States and possibly Canada over something that is politically motivated, not science-based.
If this full ban still goes into effect, the financial hit to the United States and its farmers will be big, and that?s just the tip of the iceberg of the problems this could cause in trade with our neighbor.
