A regional panel has in late December 2024 overruled Mexico’s intention to ban GM corn imports from the U.S., setting a dispute settlement example.

The panel from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ruled in favor of the U.S., terming Mexico’s claims as unscientific. 

With the settlement, the United States’ farmers who export their genetically modified corn to Mexico have backed the resolution. They had been much worried about a negative decision, given Mexico’s lead as a corn importer.

Mexico dominates American corn foreign trade, buying $4.8 billion worth of the commodity between January and October 2024. 

Although Mexico grows white corn for human consumption, it still imports much yellow corn for animal feed and for tortilla processing. In 2023, the country shipped in 18.6 million tonnes of corn from the U.S. worth over $5 billion.

7 Reasons for the Ban

The dispute hatched in February 2023 when Mexico’s President decreed a ban on GM corn in tortillas and dough, citing seven reasons. 

Reasons included ecological protection, reliance on native corn, good agricultural practices, biodiversity, community protection, food legacy and proper diet.

Also in the decree was the gradual removal of genetically engineered corn in processed human food and livestock. 

Since 2013 when a federal municipal court issued a ruling, farmers in Mexico cannot grow genetically engineered maize. 

The Central American country’s opposition to engineered foods mirrors that of many developing countries, unlike the developing world including China and the U.S.

Dispute

The United States lodged a complaint to the tri-nation USMCA in August 2023, citing all the above reasons as unscientific.

One of these is the fact that Mexico cited that GM corn could be unhealthy to humans and possibly livestock.

In its argument, the U.S. used scientific data to defend a sector that earns it $3 billion annually from Mexico alone.

Ultimately, it is admirable that the settlement has happened without the intervention of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Perhaps this is because disputes to do with genetically modified foods demand a scientific approach. As such, below is further examination of the United States-Mexico GM corn trade.

U.S. and Mexico GM Corn Statistics 

The United States is one of the biggest corn producers in the world, and one of the largest GM corn growers. In 2023, worldwide GM corn covered 69.3 million hectares, the largest apart from soybeans at 100.9 million hectares. The United States had the biggest GM crop area in 2023 at 74.40 million hectares against the world’s 1.542 billion hectares under GM crops or 13.38% of all farmland.

How big is the annual GM corn area in the U.S.? 

In the five years ending 2019, the United States averaged 34.5 million hectares under genetically modified corn. 2018 stood out as a record production year, while the corn area reached 58.9 million hectares. 

How important is corn in Mexico? 

Mexico places paramount importance to corn, being the world’s first place to domesticate corn around 8,000 B.C.E. As a matter of fact, the country still consumes the grain as a staple food to date. While white corn (maize) makes up local human food, yellow corn doubles as industrial processed food and animal feed. The country imports yellow corn exclusively from the United States, which averages between over 6 million tonnes (2014) and over 15 million tonnes (2023), yearly. This is equivalent to an import value of between over $2 billion (2014) and over $5 billion (2023). While much of the yellow corn imports from the U.S. are genetically engineered, homegrown supplies are entirely organic.