Grassley pressures Bush to push Mexico on tax issue

President Bush is scheduled to meet with Mexico’s President Vincente Fox tomorrow (Wednesday), and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is pushing the White House to add an item to the agenda which Grassley says is of concern to corn growers in Iowa and elsewhere. Grassley’s sent a letter to President Bush, asking him to make clear to President Fox “that it’s time for Mexico to repeal its high tax which is a violation of their trade agreements on our high-fructose corn syrup.” Grassley says the U-S is fighting the tax through a challenge filed with the World Trade Organization but he says that’s a slow process. Grassley says the tax is a violation of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. He says it hurts corn producers in Iowa and other states by making their product too expensive, and thus unattractive, to potential Mexican buyers.