{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://feenstra.house.gov/media/press-releases/feenstra-kildee-lead-letter-urging-usda-and-ustr-engage-newly-elected-mexican", "Feenstra, Kildee Lead Letter Urging USDA and USTR to Engage with Newly Elected Mexican President over Mexico\u2019s Ban on American Corn Imports", "2024-10-01", "2024", "2024-10", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Randy Feenstra", "F000446", "feenstra.house.gov", "feenstra", "https://feenstra.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "HULL, IOWA \u2013 Today, U.S. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Dan Kildee (D-MI) \u2013 members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee \u2013 led a letter with 19 of their colleagues urging U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to continue to engage with the newly elected President of Mexico \u2013 Claudia Sheinbaum \u2013 over Mexico\u2019s ban on American corn imports and other trade barriers.\n\nIn their letter, the lawmakers wrote, \u201cToday, October 1, 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum will be sworn in as the President of Mexico for a six-year term following her election on June 2. With this change in leadership, we strongly urge you to engage with the incoming administration in Mexico to address ongoing trade disputes under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), including Mexico\u2019s ban on genetically modified (GM) corn.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpecifically, our biggest agricultural export to Mexico in 2023 was corn \u2013 with the total value exported registering at more than $5 billion \u2013 yet we remain concerned about Mexico\u2019s stance on U.S. GM corn. As you are aware, this current dispute began in February 2023 with a presidential decree that modified a 2020 decree, not based in science, that included an immediate prohibition on the use of biotech corn in Mexico\u2019s dough and tortilla production with the long-term goal of phasing out biotech corn in all products for human consumption and animal feed. With over 90% of the corn in the U.S. grown with GM varieties, this decree has created massive uncertainty for our farmers, businesses, and seed developers since the original decree in 2020,\u201d the lawmakers continued.\n\nThe lawmakers also requested a briefing from USTR on the status of the dispute with Mexico over the GM corn ban and preparations for the 2026 review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).\n\n\u201cAdditionally, with a review of USMCA due in 2026, it is imperative to develop a close working relationship with President Sheinbaum. We understand that Julio Berdegue Sacristan, Mexico\u2019s incoming Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the new administration will abandon their goal of reducing yellow corn imports, commonly used in animal feed,\u201d the lawmakers noted. \u201cHowever, both the Decree and Mexico\u2019s regulation to ban GM corn (NOM-187) remain in place, and related legislation could advance in Mexico\u2019s legislature. We remain concerned with the effects of Mexico\u2019s policies to ban GM corn for both human consumption and animal feed since U.S. exporters face legal uncertainty which jeopardizes access to the market.\u201d\n\nThe full letter can be found HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://feenstra.house.gov/media/press-releases/feenstra-kildee-lead-letter-urging-usda-and-ustr-engage-newly-elected-mexican"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9474270045757294, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}