Mexico
Negotiate before applying tariffs, Farm Bureau says
The largest U.S. farm group would prefer negotiation, rather than a salvo of tariffs, as the first step in resolving U.S. disputes with other nations, said the American Farm Bureau Federation’s chief economist on Wednesday. “I think it’s important, when we’re talking about friends like Mexico and Canada, that we talk first,” said economist Roger Cryan. “And think about shooting later.”
Mexico displaces China as top market for U.S. food and ag exports
U.S. food and ag sales to Mexico surged by 7 percent during the 2024 fiscal year, making the North American neighbor the No. 1 ag export customer, according to Census Bureau data tracked by the USDA. China, the leader since the end of the Sino-U.S. trade war, fell to third place, behind Canada, in export purchases.
Mexico to displace China as top corn importer
China will remain the leading importer of soybeans and cotton, but Mexico will be the world's largest corn importer for the rest of this decade, said the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. The United States would be the top corn exporter despite increased competition from Brazil, said the University of Missouri think tank in updating its international marketing baseline.
Big cane and beet output add up to record U.S. sugar production
U.S. sugar production will be the highest ever in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, thanks to peak sugarbeet and sugarcane output, said a monthly USDA report. Production was forecast at 9.514 million tons, raw value, a nearly 4 percent increase from the current year.
Mexico is on China’s heels as top U.S. food and ag export market
China was less than $500 million ahead of Mexico as the leading customer for U.S. food and ag exports as the fiscal year entered its final months, according to USDA data released Wednesday. The agricultural trade deficit, forecast to set a record this year, was already at $18.8 billion, with three months to go.
China falls to third place as U.S. ag export market, USDA says
U.S. food and ag exports to China will fall by $6 billion this fiscal year in the biggest slump in sales since the Sino-U.S. trade war, forecast the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. Mexico and Canada will surpass China as the top customers, while the agricultural trade deficit will widen to $32 billion.
Mexico chases China for No. 1 export market
Mexico will buy a record $28.4 billion worth of U.S. food and agricultural exports this fiscal year, only $300 million less than China, the first-place customer, forecast the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. China is now buying more corn and soybeans from Brazil and less from the United States.
How the H-2A visa program failed two farmworkers from Mexico
In 2021, Vicente Gomez Hernandez and Humberto Feliciano Gomez, cousins from a poor village in Oaxaca, joined the hundreds of thousands of men and women from Mexico who come to the U.S. each year on an H-2A seasonal visa to work on farms around the country. The visa is meant to be a safe and efficient alternative to illegal border crossings, a win for farmers, who need the labor, and for workers, who get much higher wages than they can earn at home. It did not turn out that way for the two cousins.
Ag trade deficit to climb by 45 percent — USDA
After setting a record this year, the agricultural trade deficit will balloon further, to $27.5 billion in fiscal 2024, thanks to the unyielding American appetite for fresh produce, coffee, and wine, say government forecasters. More food and ag imports will flow into the United States at the same time that farm exports shrink, led by a decline in sales to China.
U.S. files USMCA challenge to Mexico’s corn import rules
Putting its warnings into action, the Biden administration officially accused Mexico on Thursday of violating North American trade rules by prohibiting imports of genetically modified white corn used in making tortillas, a staple of the Mexican diet. Mexico, the birthplace of corn and a top U.S. trade partner, said it was ready to defend its ban before a USMCA dispute panel.
Economic challenges worldwide force retreat in farm exports, says USDA
After setting a record last year, U.S. farm exports will shrink 8 percent this year, due to tightening economic conditions worldwide and lower commodity prices, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. The $15.4 billion decline in sales would be most pronounced for corn, cotton, beef, and soybeans.
Biden trade strategy: Stronger ties with like-minded countries
The Biden administration is writing “a new story on trade” that emphasizes cooperation with allies because countries such as China have abused open markets and low tariffs, U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai said in a speech on Wednesday.
U.S. will not allow endless negotiations on GMO corn, says Tai
With a corn-state senator demanding speedy action, U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai said on Thursday that she would not allow a dispute with Mexico over genetically modified corn “to go on indefinitely.” A 30-day period for technical consultations between the nations, arguably the last chance to avert a USMCA trade complaint, expires on April 7.
Migrants, trapped in ‘open-air prison’ by U.S. policy pick the mangoes we love
In 2019 President Donald Trump threatened to levy a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods unless the country agreed to beef up its immigration enforcement. Mexico acquiesced and deployed troops along its southern border with Guatemala, limiting the free movement of migrants. As a result, countless people have been trapped in Tapachula, a sprawling border town, in what the international press has described as an “open-air prison.”
U.S. calls for consultations with Mexico over GMO corn ban
The United States asked for technical consultations with Mexico over its agricultural biotechnology policy on Monday, the first formal step toward a challenge under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. Mexico, the leading customer for U.S. corn exports, said in mid-February that it would ban entry of GMO corn used in making tortillas but accept GMO corn intended for livestock feed and industrial processors.
USDA ‘disappointed’ by revised Mexico corn ban
In a step to defuse trade tensions with the United States, Mexico removed a looming ban on most imports of GMO corn and said it would only block genetically modified corn that would be used in making tortillas. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday the USDA was dissatisfied by the revisions.
U.S. rejects Mexico proposals on GMO corn trade
Mexico has failed to satisfy the "grave concerns" of the United States over a potential ban on imports of U.S.-grown GMO corn said trade officials after negotiations in Mexico City on Monday. "We made it clear today that if this issue is not resolved, we will consider all options, including taking formal steps to enforce our rights under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.”
U.S. shrugs at Mexico claim of accord on GMO corn
Biden administration officials refused to say more than that they were studying potential resolutions to a blossoming dispute over GMO corn exports on Wednesday, although Mexico’s agriculture minister said an informal agreement already existed. Minister Victor Villalobos claimed U.S. officials were satisfied with a proposal to delay a ban on the import of GMO corn until 2025, according to a published report.