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Mexico GM corn ban may never come to fruition

A former chief negotiator for the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement suggests Mexico’s GMO corn ban may never be realized. 

Trade consultant Ken Smith served as Mexico’s chief negotiator for the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement that led to the signing of USMCA.  During the U.S. Meat Export Federation Spring Conference in Minneapolis Thursday, he said the Mexican government is realizing it painted itself into a corner by making a decree to ban biotech corn.

“Suggesting even the possibility of restricting imports of U.S. corn into Mexico is essentially shooting yourself in the foot. It’s a complete disservice to Mexican agriculture.”

He says if it were up to them, Mexico’s new trade minister and secretary of agriculture would do away with the decree altogether.

“But there’s political pressures that led to this new decree, which in essence is sort of this half measure. It gets everybody angry, but not as angry as they were before.”

Smith says he believes the current administration in Mexico has no intention to place any restrictions on biotech corn before the next election in 2024.

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