Mexico is ruling out making new changes to a controversial decree restricting the use of GM corn while the United States convenes a panel on Mexico’s policy on transgenic grains, Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro said Monday.
In mid-February, amid a growing row with the United States, Mexico released amendments to an initial late-2020 decree softening a strict stance on GM corn and allowing its use for animal and industrial food consumption by humans. joined.
The new decree maintained the ban on genetically modified corn for “human consumption,” which was defined only as flour used to make “tortillas,” a staple of the Mexican diet.
“No,” the official said emphatically in an interview with Reuters when asked if Mexico would be willing to make a new change to the text to allay concerns from the United States and Mexican industrialists that at least corn for animal consumption would not be subject to restrictions.
“The current legal framework does not pose a threat to imports,” he emphasized, referring to the statements made by the USA on the scope of the measures on their grain sales to the Latin American country.
Buenrostro explained that Mexican regulations do not prohibit the import of any type of corn from the United States, except for corn used in tortillas.
Mexico makes self-sufficient non-transgenic white corn tortillas but buys about $5 billion a year from the United States, most of it yellow grain for cattle feed.
Last week, the United States stepped up its objections to Mexico’s restrictions on imports of genetically modified corn and called for the establishment of a dispute settlement body under the Mexico-US-Canada treaty.
The body was set up after official consultations to resolve deep differences between the two trading partners over GM corn failed.
