US Requests Dispute Settlement Consultations With Mexico Over GMO Corn - USTR

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2023) The United States has requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in response to Mexican biotechnology policies regarding genetically modified corn, the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said on Friday.

"United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced that the United States has requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. These consultations regard certain Mexican measures concerning products of agricultural biotechnology," the USTR office said in a press release.

Tai believes that Mexico's approach to biotechnology is not based on science and threatens to disrupt US exports, thereby exacerbating food insecurity, the release said.

Further, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pointed out that Washington "fundamentally disagrees" with Mexico's position on the use of genetically modified organisms in corn, as it has allegedly proven to be safe for decades, the release added.

On February 13, Mexico issued a decree to ban the use of genetically modified corn for human consumption and for animal feed, while allowing some GMO corn for industrial use.