The states are very concerned that the President of Mexico intends to ban the import of «biotech products» by 2024, as this threatens US interests.
Mexican President Andres Obrador passed a law to phase out GMO foods back in 2020.
This process should be completed by the beginning of 2024.
And since there is little time left, the States are beginning to worry. After all, the export of GMO corn to Mexico brings up to 5 billion dollars a year.
For example, over the past year, the volume of deliveries amounted to about 17 million tons.
Among other things, this allows the US to lead the Mexican corn market — and it is obvious that the Americans would not want to lose their positions at all.
How did the negotiations go?
To resolve the situation, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently met with President Obrador.
Judging by Vilsack’s remarks, little progress has been made.
Although the President of Mexico acknowledged the importance of importing yellow corn and its value to the country’s food security, he did not say anything about the fact that this corn should be GMO, moreover, that we are talking about American supplies.
As a result, all that the American minister managed to achieve was a standard promise that the dialogue would continue.
What is the risk of rejecting US imports?
Vilsack tried to describe the possible consequences in as much detail as possible during the meeting. Including:
Violation of trade relations between countries.
Damage to farmers on both sides of the border.
Significant costs for Mexican consumers.
«Suffocation» of American developments in the field of biotechnology.
In addition, it is possible that relations between the United States and Mexico as a whole will be noticeably damaged.
The states have hinted that they may go for a «trade review».
That is, the matter smells like a trade war: if Mexico refuses GMO corn, the States in response can ban their companies from buying certain goods from a neighbor, or even limit critical exports there for other items.
As a result, both sides could lose out, because the trade turnover between the United States and Mexico in 2021 amounted to as much as 63 billion dollars.
However, there are no guarantees yet that the situation will be resolved.
At this point in time, the President of Mexico has given no indication of his intention to repeal his own law. Given that there is very little time left before its entry into force, and whether the American arguments will work is a big question.
