The president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, He said this Tuesday at a press conference that he was willing to go to a dispute resolution panel to defend that transgenic corn for human consumption should not be imported.
If there is no understanding we go to the panel. It is a very important matter, it is the health of our people, ”said the president, although he recalled that there is still a month left for the commercial consultations started on Monday by Washington to give results.
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“There is a month to reach an understanding before going to the panel. And an agreement is already being sought so that an analysis can be carried out between a qualified agency in the United States and Cofepris (Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks) to carry out an analysis on the damage or not to the health of transgenic corn”, added.
Ministry of Economy in defense of health
The Ministry of Economy (SE) of Mexico warned on Monday in a statement that “Mexico will take advantage of this mechanism provided for in the T-MEC to demonstrate with data and evidence that there has been no commercial impact and that, on the contrary, the decree is consistent with the treaty itself.
This request, therefore, is not of a contentious nature, but rather a preliminary stage in which a solution is sought in a cooperative manner”, affirmed the SE.
Earlier, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Katherine Tai, He had warned of measures if this dispute is not resolved because “Mexico’s policies threaten to disrupt billions of dollars in agricultural trade.”
While the US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, opined that Mexican policies “are not based on science, which is the basis of the T-MEC.”
However, this Tuesday López Obrador said that “corn originates from Mexico”, so it must be taken care of as it is a “native species”.
In addition, He said that the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) is not violated because “no treaty in the world allows the purchase of goods that are harmful to health.”
Finally, the president informed that representatives of the United States of Commerce will arrive in Mexico and that the Secretary of Economy of Mexico, Raquel Buenrostro, is conducting negotiations on the subject.
Controversy arose last year over the Mexican president’s intention to ban imports of GM corn from the United States by 2024 because he considers it harmful.
After negotiations, the Mexican government suspended the ban on imports of transgenic corn for livestock, but maintained the blockade for human consumption.
The dialogue on corn opens another front for Mexico in the T-MEC, since last July the United States and Canada began consultations on the energy policy of López Obrador, accused of hindering foreign investment to favor state companies.
This consultation mechanism is established in the T-MEC, in force since July 2020, as a dialogue phase to avoid a dispute resolution panel.
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