Like the United States, the Government of Canada has requested formal consultations with Mexico on its restrictions on the import of genetically modified agricultural products, under the Tri-Nation Free Trade Agreement (T-MEC) .

Ottawa’s request came on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg News, a day after Washington requested formal trade consultations over its objections to Mexico’s plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn and other agricultural biotech products.

“Canada will always work with the United States and Mexico to strengthen our trade relationship and develop a clean and green agriculture sector,” a spokeswoman for Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement.

The USMCA “has the ability to conduct technical consultations to better understand how our policies will be implemented under this agreement,” the spokesperson added, without explicitly confirming the report.

Mexico plans to regulate genetically modified corn for human consumption, which US officials say jeopardizes some $5 billion in corn exports to its southern neighbor and could hamper biotech innovation.

However, Canada is not a major corn exporter, and Ottawa is generally concerned that Mexico is imposing arbitrary bans on biotechnology-based agriculture.

He is also concerned about the Mexican government’s lack of respect for the USMCA, according to the report. A spokeswoman for the economy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Mexico says GM seeds can contaminate the country’s old native varieties and questioned their impact on human health.

US officials have criticized Mexico’s plans for saying they are not based on science and warning that any restrictions on GM corn could escalate into an outright trade dispute under a regional treaty.

On January 25, the Undersecretary of Agriculture, Víctor Suárez, announced that Mexico would not be able to replace all the yellow corn it is important, but he hopes to reduce these purchases abroad between 30 and 40%.

Suárez explained at a press conference that the country is making “significant” progress in its goal to replace its dependence on corn, which comes almost entirely from its northern neighbor, but will fail to achieve the goal of replacing it entirely. .

“This is an issue that will have to be resolved by the new administration by continuing the strategy of rescuing the land and food autonomy“, he added.

Mexico is self-sufficient in white cornbut highly dependent on imports of yellow maize, which is mainly used for livestock feed.

The President’s Government Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wants to achieve self-sufficiency in maize in the medium term, which is why he imposed restrictions on the import of transgenic maize from the United States, and also signed an executive order to establish tariffs on the export of white maize, to increase inventory in Mexico.