Vilsack: US headed toward formal dispute with Mexico over corn
| The United States almost certainly is headed toward launching a formal dispute with Mexico over its planned ban on biotech corn, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday, according to Washington Trade Daily. Unless Mexico reverses its position against biotech products, a U.S.-Mexico-Canada dispute is inevitable, Vilsack told reporters on the sidelines of USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum. “This is not a situation that lends itself to compromise,” he stated. U.S. and Mexican trade officials are about to hold a series of meetings to exchange information on Mexico’s proposed ban and U.S. views, WTD noted. If those talks do not lead to a resolution, the next step is the dispute settlement process established in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, Vilsack said. Washington cannot compromise on the ban because a “science-based, rules-based system” is a fundamental principle of trade, he stated. Accepting a non-scientific approach would lead to a “very slippery slope” that could result in other trade partners taking similar stands against genetically modified products. “We’re just not going to go down that road,” Vilsack said. Chief U.S. Agriculture Negotiator Doug McKalip said in a speech to the conference that if U.S. concerns cannot be resolved, “all options are on the table,” WTD said. |
