Mexico's Sheinbaum to present constitutional safeguard for non-GMO corn in coming days

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that her government would in the coming days present a plan to protect the country's non-genetically modified white corn under the constitution.

"We have an obligation to ensure that the white corn cultivated in Mexico is not genetically-modified," Sheinbaum told a morning press conference. "This will be in the constitution as this is the best defense we have for biodiversity as well as for our health."

Sheinbaum said her predecessor President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had sent a proposal to safeguard Mexico's corn varieties and that she hoped this would be discussed in the lower house of Congress in the coming days.

Mexico is self-sufficient in white corn, used to make the country's staple tortilla, but imports genetically-modified yellow corn from the United States which is used largely to feed livestock.

Sheinbaum's predecessor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, had sought to limit imports of genetically-modified corn, sparking a dispute under the North American free trade pact.

The country counts has more than 60 native varieties of corn, a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine that was domesticated by indigenous people over thousands of years and has an important symbolic value dating back to pre-Hispanic cultures.

Sheinbaum said it was also important to safeguard the quality of seeds being used by farmers to protect the local agricultural capacity.

A dispute settlement panel under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) is soon expected to rule on Mexico's genetically-modified corn import restrictions, with a final report expected by Nov. 29.

The USMCA is up for a revision in 2026, in which Sheinbaum's administration will negotiate with the government of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.