BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The presidents of 23 state corn grower groups, joined by the president of the National Corn Growers Association, sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for him to take additional steps to address the pending decree by Mexico that would block imports of biotech corn.
Matt Rush of Fairfield, Illinois Corn Growers Association president, was among the letter’s signatories.
“Mexico is the top export destination for U.S. corn, and exports are the No. 1 market for Illinois corn. As a corn farmer who represents thousands of corn farmers in our state, we must do everything possible to preserve and grow this market,” Rush said.
“The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement contains provisions that ensure the partners use sound science when developing restrictions on trade. The biotech corn embargo the Mexican administration has proposed is clearly not based in science and must be rejected.
“The Biden administration must act now to enforce the USMCA trade agreement and give U.S. corn farmers and industry on both sides of the border some certainty.”
The letter encouraged the president to raise the issue during upcoming trade talks and to file a dispute under the USMCA if Mexico doesn’t act expeditiously to withdraw the decree.
“Corn farmers are right now in the process of making planting decisions for next spring, and any additional uncertainty in the market affects their ability to appropriately respond to multiple market signals,” the corn farmer leaders said within the letter.
“If the decree is not completely withdrawn by the established deadline, we ask that your administration initiate a case under USMCA.”
The letter is in response to a promise by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to end imports of biotech corn to Mexico beginning in early 2024. Ninety percent of corn grown in the United States is biotech corn.
Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard visited Washington recently to discuss the issue ahead of a planned meeting on trade between Biden, Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in early January. The state corn farmer leaders urged Biden to raise the issue at the meeting.
“Because the stakes for farmers and rural America are so high, we are calling on you to make this issue a critical part of your Jan. 9 meeting with President López Obrador and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” the letter stated.
The letter also detailed specific actions the president could take in the coming days.
“We are also asking that you empower Ambassador Katherine Tai to work with Secretary Vilsack to set a firm, quick timeline with Mexico to withdraw the decree or initiate a case under the biotechnology provisions of the USMCA and that you do so without agreeing to a ban of any form of biotech corn, including white corn that is used for human consumption,” the group noted.
The letter also emphasized the science supporting the safe use of biotech corn.
“Decades of science show that biotech corn is safe for use,” the letter stated. “Growers plant biotech corn, which is reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and regulatory agencies around the world, because it saves money, reduces the use of insecticides and lowers carbon emissions. This technology also allows corn growers to plant seeds that are resistant to severe weather conditions caused by climate change.”
The letter noted that the ban would have an impact on the Mexican people, noting a recently released study showing that it could lead to increased food insecurity in the country — especially among the working class — for whom corn is a major staple.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to Mexico City in late November to meet with Obrador about the issue, a development that was widely praised by corn growers.
Vilsack emphasized during that meeting that minus a reasonable agreement, the United States would take action, including filing a complaint under USMCA. Corn growers have since pushed the administration for faster action.