Mexico‘s President Claudia Sheinbaum has outlined her position on the issue of science and transgenic corn in relation to Mexican imports of the grain.
On her first day in office, October 1, 2024, Sheinbaum made no statement on the matter, although she did make a general comment on Mexico’s relations with the United States.
The two countries are nearing the conclusion of a dispute settlement panel on Mexican imports of transgenic corn originating in the United States. The controversy has an underlying scientific question: are there risks from high human consumption of GM corn in low-processed products?
Panel on GM maize
Sheinbaum earned a Ph.D. in energy engineering from UNAM’s School of Engineering and conducted research at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley.
“The doctor has been very clear that Mexico will have the policy of not allowing any type of transgenic corn in the national territory and that we do not want the importation of transgenic corn for human consumption,” said last June 20 Berdegué Sacristán, current head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader), in reference to Sheinbaum.
In her inauguration message as President of Mexico, Sheinbaum highlighted: “We will take advantage of the trade agreement relationship with the United States and Canada to continue promoting the relocation of companies, while promoting regional development with wellbeing and care for the environment”.
She added: “The United States, Canada and Mexico know that economic cooperation strengthens all three nations. It is clear that we do not compete with each other, we complement each other and, in addition, we generate the conditions for a greater consolidation of the economy of the entire continent in a vision of the present and future of the world economy.
Science and transgenic corn
On the same day, a group of legislators from the U.S. House of Representatives encouraged White House Trade Representative Katherine Tai to work with the new Mexican administration to remove restrictions on imports of genetically modified corn in anticipation of the 2026 revision of the Mexico-U.S.-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Specifically, the lawmakers externalized that the largest U.S. agricultural export to Mexico in 2023 was corn, with a total exported value of more than $5 billion.
“We remain concerned about Mexico’s position on U.S. GM corn,” they said in the letter.
In addition to the alleged risks to human health, the Mexican government argues that Mexican imports of GM corn from the United States continue to grow, so it cannot claim harm. It also argues that Mexico is the origin of 57 corn breeds and the USMCA obliges to preserve endangered species.