Iowa Farmers Warn of Substantial Losses From Mexico’s GM Corn Ban

Lance Lillibridge, chair of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and Benton County corn farmer, said that the proposed ban by Mexico on genetically modified corn would be “extremely devastating” to the state’s farmers, and needs to be taken extremely seriously.

The ban was initiated by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2020, with a target start date of January 1, 2024, and if implemented as a total ban on imports, as initially intended, the Iowa farm group stated that it would result in a loss of profits for years.

In a report prepared for multinational corn groups by World Perspectives, estimates are that the U.S. farming sector would see a net loss of $3.56 billion in the first year under the ban, and $13.61 billion in losses over the first 10 years. Over that same 10-year period, the U.S. would see a loss of $73.89 billion in economic output, and the country’s GDP would drop by $30.55 billion.

Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst both claim that the ban violates the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, and are calling for U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to request a dispute settlement under the agreement.

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