One of the biggest buyers of Iowa corn is planning to cut off most of its purchases in 2024, though diplomatic efforts are still underway that aim to bring about a change in policy.
Fourth District Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says he recently met with our nation’s top trade ambassador to Mexico, and so far, there’s no movement on Mexico shifting its stance on plans to ban the majority of American corn.
“We had a meeting with Kathleen Tai, talking about where they’re at. It doesn’t sound like they’ve made any headway. Kathleen Tai is our U.S. Trade Representative to Mexico,” Feenstra says. “They say they’re still working with it. We have not heard any word. We’ve had a delegation down in Mexico. I was there six months ago now, trying to resolve this issue.”
Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says the window of opportunity is slowly closing around engagement with Mexico.
“Twenty-five percent of our corn goes to Mexico and the export market, so we’re hoping that this goes away in 2024,” Feenstra says, “So we’ve got just six months here to get it completed.”
Mexico is phasing out its use of GMO or genetically modified corn next year, though about 90-percent of all corn grown in the U.S. is GMO corn. Feenstra says the looming ban, prompted by Mexico’s president, is in violation of the U-S-Canada-Mexico Free Trade Agreement.
(By John Slegers, KLEM, Le Mars)