WESTERN PRODUCER — There are lingering concerns about the country’s sudden shift away from three decades of science-based regulation
Canada is deeply concerned about Mexico’s recent departure from its longstanding approach to regulating genetically modified crops.
“It was a global stalwart of science-based decision-making and it’s very disappointing to see them drifting away from that,” said Ian Affleck, vice-president of plant biotechnology with CropLife Canada.
The slide began in 2018 with the election of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also known as AMLO, as president of Mexico.
Part of his platform was a commitment to ban glyphosate and genetically modified corn by 2024. He issued a presidential decree to that effect on Dec. 31, 2020.
AMLO’s decree received backlash from growers and exporters in the United States and Canada.
Mexico is the top export market for U.S. corn. The country imported 5.82 million tonnes in the period from September 2022 through January 2023. That represents 42 percent of total U.S. sales for that time.
Tensions between the North American countries ratcheted up as the January 2024 implementation date loomed.
That prompted a second decree on Feb. 13, 2023, which Mexico called a clarification of the original policy, but others deemed an about-face.
The second decree pushed back the glyphosate ban to March 31, 2024, but resulted in an immediate ban on GM white corn used in flour, tortillas and dough.
It also laid the groundwork for the gradual substitution of GM yellow corn used for animal feed and other purposes.
No date has been stipulated for achieving that outcome. Imports will continue until sufficient supplies of non-GM yellow corn are available.
Affleck said the second decree removed the immediate trade threat.
But there are lingering concerns about Mexico’s sudden shift away from three decades of science-based regulations.
“The presidential decree is a concerning example of politics and ideology overriding science and it sets a precedent that could impact the flow of agricultural trade around the world,” he said.
Canada and the United States have both requested technical consultations with Mexico about its new phytosanitary policy as allowed for under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“We are working with Mexico towards an outcome that preserves trade predictability for biotechnology approvals and market access for genetically modified products,” Shanti Cosentino, press secretary for Canadian international trade minister Mary Ng, said in an email.
The parties have 180 days to resolve the issue before taking the next step, which is a formal dispute settlement process.
Canada does not sell much corn to Mexico but broader issues are at stake.
“It could be corn today and it could be canola tomorrow,” said Affleck.
AMLO’s party members have publicly noted the desire to expand bans to other GM crops and pesticide products.
Mexico was the second biggest buyer of Canadian canola in the August 2022 through January 2023 period, purchasing 676,076 tonnes, next only to China’s 1.99 million tonnes.
Trade in canola is not directly affected by the decree, but it is affecting GM trait approvals in that country.
Mexican regulators rejected an application for stacked-trait corn in September 2021 because it included a glyphosate resistance trait.
Approvals for an additional 10 glyphosate-resistant traits in canola, cotton, corn and soybeans were denied in early 2022.
Those rejections will affect what varieties of those crops can be grown in Canada and the U.S., said Affleck.
CropLife is pleased that Canada is defending rules-based trade and holding Mexico accountable to the free trade agreement, he said.
“This is a strong call for them to return to their science-based roots, which they have demonstrated for over 30 years,” he said.
