Texas Delegation Members Concerned About Mexico's USMCA Ag Compliance

Eighteen of the 36 Texas representatives in the House and both of Texas's senators asked the new ambassador to Mexico to press Mexico to fulfill its promises on approving agricultural biotech products and to keep Mexico's oil industry open to foreign investors. In an Oct. 19 letter, they wrote: "Texas farmers and ranchers have long benefited from free trade with Mexico and Canada. The USMCA locked in key provisions for agriculture and includes state of the art rules on agricultural biotechnology. Rigorous enforcement of these important priorities is vital for Texas producers. Mexico remains the top destination for U.S. agricultural trade -- ensuring that Mexico abides by these commitments remains a top concern for the producers we represent. We also have raised these concerns directly with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai. Proper implementation of the USMCA is a top priority and the U.S. must engage at all levels of government to ensure that the American people can reap the full benefits from this important trade agreement."

This letter follows news that Mexican regulators rejected Bayer's genetically modified seed corn. A Bayer spokeswoman told International Trade Today, "We believe the recent decision by COFEPRIS to not grant approval for this specific corn product stack containing HT3 and SmartStax PRO technology was for non-science based reasons, contributing to further industry concern about the potential erosion of a robust evidence-based product approval process."