McKinney: ‘Elated’ Over USMCA Dispute Panel’s Ruling Against Mexico’s GM Corn Import Ban

We’ve been reporting for several years on the conflict that Mexico created when their former President said he would ban genetically modified corn imports from the U.S. Now that a dispute panel has ruled against Mexico, Indiana native and national ag leader Ted McKinney tells Hoosier Ag Today he is “elated” with the outcome of the USMCA dispute panel’s ruling.

“The significance of this decision is untold in its value,” according to McKinney, who is CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).

The conflict started nearly four years ago when Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador put out a decree to ban genetically modified corn imports by the end of 2024. He modified that decree back in February 2023 when he immediately banned the imports of all genetically modified white corn.

A dispute panel on Friday issued a ruling that Mexico had violated its commitments under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) when it issued those decrees.

“It reinforced that perhaps the finest trade agreement in the world—and I do believe USMCA is the finest in the world—can withstand pressures and that good science and common sense can prevail,” says McKinney. “That’s what’s happened here, and so people should not just ‘ho-hum’ this. This is a decision of effort proportion—not just for the U.S. and Mexico, but for the world.”

Is there an appeals process for Mexico?

“We understand that there is, but we have not heard from our friends at the US Trade Representative’s office what—if any penalties—might be available to the U.S. should Mexico choose not to abide, so there’s a lot of unknown in that. Canada had also weighed in and supported the U.S.’s claims, so it’s really both Canada and the U.S. on the same side,” he says.

McKinney adds that the decision goes beyond preventing economic disaster, it also prevents a roll-back in scientific research and advancement for U.S. agriculture.

“It would undermine the entire trust of biotechnology as one of the most valuable tools in the history of agriculture,” says McKinney. “I believe that’s why I say, I’m elated and that’s why I say this is of epic proportion and positively so, I might add.”

CLICK BELOW to hear Hoosier Ag Today’s full conversation with Tipton County native Ted McKinney, CEO of NASDA.