“There has been this debate and ongoing concern about the Mexican government prohibiting the importation of GMO corn and the use of GMO corn, as well as glyphosate, within Mexico,” Olson said.

In the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), there were some provisions put in during the renegotiation to allow a mediation time period where the three countries would be able to try and work out issues.

“They would have a mediation process where they would be able to bring forward their concerns and have them discussed as the three parties, instead of taking it to the World Trade Organization,” he said. “That process has been initiated.”

The U.S. has asked the Mexican government to provide a detailed listing of concerns, as well as any kind of research backing their concerns to open up that discussion.

“We’re still waiting to see what the Mexican government’s response will be to that, and then, the negotiations for some kind of resolution will take place from there,” Olson said.

The new plan bans only GMO corn used for dough or tortillas, but leaves the door open to gradually substituting GMO corn for animal feed and industrial use in the future.

The transition period to eliminate glyphosate was also extended to March 31, 2024.

“Any kind of formal prohibition of importing GMO corn has been moved back into 2024,” he said. “We do have a little bit of a window here. We don’t expect that to impact short-term buying of our sales of U.S. corn in Mexico.”

Mexico purchased more than 18 million metric tons for the 2021-22 market year that ended Sept. 1, according to the USDA.