Washington, March 6 (EFE).- The United States announced on Monday the start of technical consultations with Mexico under the new North American Free Trade Agreement (T-MEC) due to the country’s intention Latin American country to veto imports of transgenic maize. consumption.

The office of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai warned in a statement that it would take action against Mexico to enforce the treaty if this dispute is not resolved.

“Mexico’s policies threaten to disrupt billions of dollars in agricultural trade and undermine the innovation needed to address the climate crisis and food security challenges,” Tai criticized in the statement Monday.

The controversy arose last year from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s intention to ban imports of GM corn from the United States by 2024 because he considers it harmful to health.

After several negotiations, the Mexican government agreed to allow imports of GM corn for livestock, but maintained the blockade on corn for human consumption.

The T-MEC, launched in 2020 by the United States, Mexico and Canada, establishes that a country can enter into technical consultations with another when it considers that its policies negatively affect free trade.

In the event that the two parties fail to reach an agreement, the T-MEC provides for the initiation of a dispute resolution panel and independent arbitration.

“If these issues are not resolved, we will consider all options, including taking formal action to enforce United States rights under the USMCA,” the Washington Commerce Bureau warned. who said he repeatedly expressed “serious concerns” in Mexico. ” about this question.

In December of last year, a Mexican government delegation met with senior US officials in Washington to try to reach a corn deal.

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Finally, on January 30, Joe Biden’s government sent a formal request to Mexico for an explanation of its intention to veto transgenic corn and received a response from the executive of Andrés Manuel López Obrador on January 14. FEBRUARY.

United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack expressed in a statement on Monday his desire to “strengthen” trade ties with Mexico, but said the neighboring country’s policies “are not based on the science, which is the basis of T-MEC”.

“The intent of the United States government is that through this process we can achieve an outcome that respects each country’s sovereignty and benefits the United States, Mexico, and our farmers,” the office said. commercial.

Since the implementation of the T-MEC, at least 17 trade disputes have been opened, some of them high profile.

The United States and Canada have come together to open a round of consultations to determine whether Mexico’s energy policy discriminates against American and Canadian companies.

(c) EFE Agency