Panel rules in favor of US in GM corn dispute

The US corn industry received an early holiday gift on Dec. 20 when a three-member trade-dispute panel ruled that restrictions by Mexico on genetically modified (GM) corn exports from the United States violated the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement. The panel ruled in favor of all seven US legal claims and found that the restrictions were not based on science and violated the USMCA’s chapters on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and on market access.

The dispute began in 2020 when Mexico initially called for a ban of genetically modified corn by the end of 2024, claiming it was harmful to human health. In 2023, then-Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador signed a decree banning GM corn imports, and the US Trade Representative responded by requesting arbitration to settle the dispute, challenging Mexico’s decree that immediately banned use of GM corn in tortillas and dough and instructed government agencies to gradually eliminate its use in other foods and in animal feed.

With Mexico accounting for nearly 50% of total US corn export sales annually, US corn growers hailed the decision as a major victory.

“This is an incredible development for the nation’s corn growers and rural communities,” said Kenneth Hartman Jr., president of the National Corn Growers Association and an Illinois farmer. “This outcome is a direct result of the advocacy efforts of corn grower leaders from across the country. We want to thank the nation’s growers for speaking out and US officials for listening and acting.”

Ryan LeGrand, president of the US Grains Council, added: “Mexico has always been a powerful partner to US corn growers and exporters, so when the country tried banning GM corn imports that would have severely affected our industry, we appreciated the extra effort the US Trade Representative gave in filing the dispute and seeing it through to its logical conclusion.”

Mexico’s economy and agriculture ministries said in a joint statement they were disappointed by the ruling but would respect it.

“The Government of Mexico does not agree with the panel’s decision, as it considers that the measures in question are aligned with the principles of public health protection and the rights of Indigenous peoples,” the agencies said.

Mexico has 45 days to bring its corn-trade policies into compliance with the trade agreement. Failure to do so under the 2020 USMCA’s trade deal’s rules could result in punitive duties on some exports to the United States.

Mexico has been importing genetically modified corn from the United States for years, buying about $3 billion worth annually. It typically imports around 17 million tonnes of US corn each year.