US to dispute Mexico’s proposed ban on GMO corn, Grassley applauds news

WASHINGTON — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley applauds news the US Trade Representative plans to formally dispute Mexico’s proposed ban on genetically-modified corn from the US.

If those imports to Mexico are cut off, Grassley says it’ll mean millions of tons of Iowa corn won’t have a key buyer. Grassley says, “With grain prices already high because of Putin’s war on Ukraine, Mexico’s decree would only make global hunger worse.”

Republican Grassley, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, says Mexico’s proposed ban on GMO corn would begin in January of 2024. He says such a ban would have “a devastating impact” on farmers across America and in Iowa.  “Mexico is the birthplace of the Green Revolution,” Grassley says, “so it is disappointing to see the Mexican government try to turn back the clock on agricultural innovation.”

Grassley was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee when the U-S-Mexico-Canada Agreement was crafted. The USMCA took effect in July of 2020.  “Banning GMO corn imports lacks a scientific basis, and hence, all these decisions ought to be made on science and as far as I know they are,” Grassley says. “Since it’s not made on science, it’s a violation of the USMCA.”

Grassley calls Mexico’s proposed ban “ridiculous,” and one report says it would effectively phase out the import of 90% of US corn by January. “Iowa is number one in production and Mexico’s our number one receiver of surplus American corn,” Grassley says, “so Iowa is going to be hurt more than any other state but I can’t quantify that for you.”

Grassley’s office says Iowa corn growers export 16-million tons of corn to Mexico each year, and over the last decade, one-quarter of all U-S corn exports went to Mexico, totaling nearly $3 billion of revenue per year.