Mexico Will Lose the GM Corn Panel: CONCAMIN

The Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN) fears that Mexico will lose the USMCA panel convened as a response to the ban on GM corn, which would lead to the imposition of tariffs by the US government on food sector producers and industrialists. Specialists highlight that the Mexican government lacks scientific evidence to support the ban on GM corn.

Last week the US Trade Representative's office (USTR) requested a dispute settlement panel under the USMCA on the GM corn dispute against Mexico. This followed a 75 day consultation period, which failed to resolve the legal conflict between the two countries, as reported by MBN. 

José Abugaber, President, CONCAMIN, stated that Mexico will most likely lose the resolution panel on GM corn given that it lacks evidence of the danger that the grain poses on human health. "We are greatly concerned about the establishment of this panel. Globally, no country has questioned the safety of genetically modified agricultural products for human consumption,” says Abugaber. 

Abugaber urges the federal government to avoid a negative scenario for the Mexican economy and to uphold the national legal framework and international trade agreements. "The non-compliance of the USMCA will primarily affect Mexican agricultural producers through the imposition of tariffs by the US government,” he says. 

Victor Manuel Ochoa, President of the Board of Directors, National Council for Manufacturers of Balanced Foods and Animal Nutrition (CONAFAB), highlights that there are no technical-scientific foundations to support the Mexican government's restriction over GM corn. “We all want to protect the health of Mexicans, but the issue of transgenic organisms has an ideological underpinning. CONACYT has not been able to provide a single piece of evidence that consuming a GMO causes harm. We have been consuming this corn for years worldwide. Brazil uses it and is a net exporter, as is the US," says Ochoa. 

Corn is involved in many productive chains, encompassing over 30,000 products in Mexican supermarkets. Therefore, this matter should be handled cautiously due to the potentially devastating impact it could have on the food industry. However, Abugaber says that he hopes that this issue will not escalate.