Farmers in the United States are urging their government to challenge a looming Mexican ban on genetically modified (GM) corn under a regional free trade agreement, warning of billions of dollars of economic damage to both countries.

A late 2020 decree by Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would phase out GM corn and the herbicide glyphosate by 2024. Supporters of the ban say GM seeds can contaminate Mexico’s age-old native varieties, and point to research showing adverse effects of glyphosate.

Angus R. Kelly, the [National Corn Growers Association] director of public policy, trade and biotechnology, said it objects to the “precedent-setting nature of the decrees” and to Mexico rejecting biotech crop traits “without any scientific basis.”

Washington could potentially raise a dispute under the agriculture chapter of the USMCA stipulating cooperation between members on an individual government’s regulation of imports, according to Raul Urteaga, a former Mexican government official and founder of consulting group Global Agrotrade Advisors.

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A March report by the U.S. consulting firm World Perspectives Inc projected that Mexico’s ban could cost the country $4.4 billion over 10 years for corn imports, push the price of tortillas up 42% by the second year and cause major risks to food security.

The United States could see a $16.5 billion drop in economic output over 10 years, the report found. It did not differentiate between white and yellow corn.

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