The U.S. assault on Mexico’s food sovereignty

Published 2023년 6월 6일

Tridge summary

The U.S. government has initiated a dispute resolution process against Mexico under the USMCA trade agreement, protesting Mexico's restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn and glyphosate use. Mexico's measures, designed to safeguard public health and environmental biodiversity, have led to a decrease in U.S. corn exports to Mexico, primarily affecting those for non-human consumption and industrial uses. The U.S. argues that Mexico's measures lack scientific basis, while Mexico plans to demonstrate minimal impact on U.S. exporters and will continue its efforts to reduce import dependence by boosting domestic production. This conflict highlights the broader issues of food sovereignty, trade agreements, and the potential health effects of GM food and glyphosate, with Mexico standing firm against pressures to relax its regulations, despite U.S. opposition.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. , Jun 6 2023 (IPS) - On June 2, the U.S. government escalated its conflict with Mexico over that country’s restrictions on genetically modified corn, initiating the formal dispute-resolution process under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). It is only the latest in a decades-long U.S. assault on Mexico’s food sovereignty using the blunt instrument of a trade agreement that has inundated Mexico with cheap corn, wheat, and other staples, undermining Mexico’s ability to produce its own food. With the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador showing no signs of backing down, the conflict may well test the extent to which a major exporter can use a trade agreement to force a sovereign nation to abandon measures it deems necessary to protect public health and the environment. The Science of Precaution The measures in question are those contained in the Mexican president’s decree, announced in late 2020 and updated in February 2023, to ban the cultivation of ...

Source: Ipsnews