Agriculture committee members call for enforcement of USMCA.
Every five years, Congress passes the farm bill that sets America’s standards for agriculture, nutrition, forestry, and conservation. The Senate Agriculture Committee has held numerous hearings since 2022 to inform their development of the new bill, and they held a hearing this week to discuss Mexico’s announcement to ban genetically modified corn by 2024. That decision could cost the U.S. billions of dollars in foreign trade.
The committee called in and questioned Alexis Taylor, undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs for the Department of Agriculture, to ask how the USDA is handling this development. Undersecretary Taylor assured the committee that the USDA is currently in talks with the Mexican government, standing by the safety of genetically modified food products and working to come to a mutual solution between the two countries.
However, Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas voiced concerns that President Biden’s administration has not already invoked the terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to contest Mexico’s decision. “What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for to trigger this mechanism?” Senator Marshall said. “We think it’s time for action.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Senator Stabenow as she leads the Senate Agriculture Committee.
- For Undersecretary Taylor as she oversees the USDA office of trade and foreign agricultural affairs.
- For wisdom for U.S. officials as they respond to this potential ban of GMO corn by Mexico.
Sources: The Hill, Agri-Pulse
