IATP blog (and in Spanish on Contralinea)
Mexico’s closing argument in its ongoing dispute with the United States over its restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn and glyphosate residues in tortillas was published in translation June 19. The government argues persuasively in the 264-page document that it has the right to take such precautionary measures under the trade agreement, that the measures have had minimal impacts on U.S. corn exporters and that its restrictions are indeed based on peer-reviewed science documenting the risks of consuming GM corn with glyphosate residues. These risks are particularly elevated for Mexicans, who consume more than 10 times the corn consumed in the U.S. and do so in minimally processed preparations, such as tortillas.
Mexico refutes the U.S. rebuttal, which failed to acknowledge or rebut that evidence, relying instead on outdated studies that do not take Mexican consumption patterns into account and are often corrupted by conflicts of interest with biotechnology companies. As Mexico states in its accessible four-page introduction:
“Mexico has demonstrated throughout this controversy that there are legitimate concerns related to risks to human health and the diversity of native maize derived from the consumption of GM maize and has presented the scientific basis for these concerns, which will be addressed in detail throughout this paper. Mexico is protecting its population, which basically subsists on corn, as it is legally obliged to do so. The United States superficially analyzes and criticizes the evidence and risk assessment prepared by Mexico, but in its criticisms, it does not present arguments backed by science to support its position, but simply disqualifies with adjectives.” (paragraph 4)
“It is truly astonishing that the United States makes a plethora of superficial, false, contradictory claims and, above all, that it fails to present the technical-scientific evidence on which its claims are based - most likely because it does not exist.” (paragraph 13)….
read the full analysis on IATP