[CTC] IATP statement on US GM corn dispute panel

Thu Aug 17 13:42:45 PDT 2023

On Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 4:03 PM Karen Hansen-Kuhn <khansenkuhn at iatp.org>
wrote:

> *    Media Contact*: Cecelia Brackey
>
>   cbrackey at iatp.org, +1-651-328-4706
>
> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *
>
> *August 17, 2023*
>
>
>
> *U.S. ESCALATES TRADE DISPUTE OVER GM CORN, CHALLENGES MEXICO’S FOOD
> SOVEREIGNTY*
>
> *U.S. Trade Representative office’s move to form dispute resolution panel
> lacks justification according to experts *
>
>
>
> *MINNEAPOLIS/Washington, D.C.*—Today, the United States Trade
> Representative (USTR) office escalated its complaint against Mexico’s ban
> on genetically modified (GM) corn, asserting it as a potential violation of
> the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). USTR filed a request for the
> formation of a dispute resolution panel under the USCMA framework. The
> Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has analyzed the USMCA and
> believes that USTR is exaggerating the economic impacts on U.S. producers
> and that the agreement permits such precautionary policies to protect
> public health and the environment.
>
> U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and the agribusiness sector have
> asserted that biotech and environment provisions within USMCA require
> Mexico to permit the importation of GM corn. However, these claims are
> false
> <https://www.iatp.org/documents/understanding-agricultural-biotechnology-provisions-us-mexico-canada-agreement>:
> A examination of the agreement reveals that “Mexico retains authority to
> adopt and implement policies to protect the environment and public health,
> preserve and enhance biodiversity, and respect Indigenous communities and
> lifestyles.”
>
> USTR Katherine Tai has expressed unfounded concern that Mexico’s policies
> might disrupt billions of dollars in agricultural trade between the
> countries. No credible evidence exists to support this claim, as determined
> by analysis from IATP
> <https://www.iatp.org/distorting-markets-name-free-trade> of the economic
> modeling study that underpins the USTR claim. The economic study was
> commissioned by CropLife and other agribusiness entities in the U.S. and
> Mexico, all with strong economic interests in blocking Mexico’s
> restrictions on GM corn.
>
> In response to U.S. officials’ critique of Mexico’s ban on GM corn as not
> founded in science, the Mexican government organized a robust series of
> webinars this spring that presented substantive evidence on the human
> health concerns surrounding GM food. For years, Mexico’s national science
> agency has maintained a public database
> <https://conahcyt.mx/cibiogem/index.php/sistema-nacional-de-informacion/documentos-y-actividades-en-bioseguridad>
> of evidence underlying the concerns about public health and corn
> biodiversity from both GM corn and the herbicide glyphosate. A synthesis
> report of these scientific finds is due out shortly.
>
> The U.S. government has refused Mexico’s offer to collaborate in an
> examination of the science, particularly in relation to less-well-studied
> concerns about the consumption of animal products fed on GM corn and
> glyphosate. Victor Suarez, Mexico’s Undersecretary of Agriculture for Food
> Self-Sufficiency, told Reuters
> <https://www.reuters.com/science/mexican-official-says-us-refuses-cooperate-gm-corn-studies-2023-08-03/>
> the U.S. thinks it can unilaterally determine the science of the issue.
>
> “U.S. agribusiness exporters, the biotech industry and their allies in
> Congress are pushing this case, intent on compelling Mexico to accept U.S.
> exports without debate. It is an assault on Mexico’s food sovereignty,”
> says Karen Hansen-Kuhn, IATP director of trade and international
> strategies and author of an op-ed
> <https://www.iatp.org/us-trade-dispute-genetically-modified-corn-shaky-ground>
> on Mexico’s rights under the USMCA. “Trade rules should provide a forum
> to protect and advance rights, rather than block them.”
>
> “As Mexican Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro stated
> <https://www.gob.mx/se/prensa/secretaria-de-economia-y-ustr-dialogan-sobre-el-decreto-de-maiz>
> in response to the USTR request for technical consultations, Mexico’s
> decree is based on science, and she will challenge the U.S. government in
> the consultations to show ‘quantitatively, with numbers, something that has
> not occurred: that the corn decree has commercially affected U.S.
> exporters,’” says Timothy A. Wise, IATP senior advisor, whose op-ed
> <https://www.iatp.org/false-alarms-over-mexicos-gm-corn-restrictions>
> summarizes the exaggeration of economic impacts from the Mexican measures.
> “The Mexican government will show what has occurred: Its cherished
> tortillas are being contaminated with glyphosate and GM corn. And they
> intend to put a stop to that.”
>
> Beyond the immediate implications, the case could set precedent for other
> trade negotiations, potentially including the Indo Pacific Economic
> Framework negotiations, which will cover agriculture, as well as in current
> talks with Kenya. In addition, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro is
> asking for a renegotiation
> <https://www.infobae.com/colombia/2023/08/16/gustavo-petro-anuncio-que-colombia-empezo-a-renegociar-el-tlc-con-estados-unidos/>
> of its trade agreement with the U.S., in part due to rising dependence on
> unfairly priced corn exports from the U.S.
>
> ###
>
> Based in Minneapolis with offices in Washington, D.C., and Berlin,
> Germany, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy works locally and
> globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and
> sustainable food, farm and trade systems. To learn more, visit:
> www.iatp.org*.*
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> *Karen Hansen-Kuhn **she/her/hers*
>
> Director of Trade and International Strategies
>
>
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