Mexico GMO Corn Ban Tensions Heighten as US Seeks Formal Talks

The US asked for more formal trade talks with Mexico, an escalation of the countries’ friction over Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified corn imports.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, her office said Friday. The step forward from technical consultations indicates that the US is heightening and formalizing its conflict with Mexico over President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s ban on genetically modified corn for human consumption.

American officials have repeatedly criticized the Mexican government’s GMO corn prohibition, calling it unscientific. While the Mexican president asserts that genetically modified corn could harm ...