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By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
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Amid President Donald Trump's tariffs uncertainty, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins raised concerns on Monday over Mexico's proposed constitutional amendment on corn.
Newsweek has reached out to U.S. Department of Agriculture via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly imposed and paused various tariffs, triggering concerns for businesses that rely on manufacturing and supply chains in Mexico and Canada, as well as consumers.
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Tariffs are taxes on imported goods, typically paid by the importing businesses, which can then pass costs onto consumers through higher prices. The importing business could be any American company that purchases goods from foreign suppliers and brings them into the country for resale, manufacturing or distribution. Tariffs are often used to protect domestic industries by making foreign goods more expensive and encouraging consumers to buy locally.
Trump recently implemented 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with a 10 percent increase in tariffs on Chinese goods. The three countries announced retaliatory measures in response. But Trump on Thursday announced a one-month pause on tariffs on Canada and Mexico products covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) free trade treaty.
What To Know
In a Monday post to X, formerly Twitter, Rollins said she met with Mexico's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Julio Berdegué and they discussed the U.S.-Mexico trade relationship.
Rollins added that she expressed concern over Mexico's proposed constitutional amendment that would ban genetically modified (GM) corn.
"We both expressed the importance of the U.S.-Mexico trade relationship for our great U.S. agricultural products. Tariffs were a top priority for this conversation. In the past 20 years, U.S. exports to Mexico have increased 220%, but our imports from Mexico grew by over 450%. We need Mexico to import more of our products for a reciprocal trading relationship," Rollins said.
She added: "I expressed my concern to Secretary Berdegué that Mexico's proposed constitutional amendment on biotech corn should not result in restrictions on U.S. corn exports for food or animal feed use in Mexico. He assured me that there is no intention to block trade. I look forward to building on our relationship."
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Rollins' remarks come after Mexico's lower house of Congress late last month passed a sweeping constitutional reform to ban the planting of GM corn, a move that analysts warn could reignite trade tensions with the United States.
A map created by Newsweek shows the states that would be most impacted if Mexico follows through with its proposed ban.
According to Brownfield News, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Louisiana are the top corn exporters to Mexico. All of the states except Illinois backed Trump for president in 2024, as the Prairie State favored former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Mexico is a major buyer of U.S. corn, importing about $5 billion worth of GM corn annually, primarily for livestock feed, according to Reuters.
With 95 percent of Mexico's corn imports coming from the United States—where most corn is genetically modified—the reform is poised to have significant trade implications. Yellow corn, mainly used for the livestock feed and in other industries including processed food production, plays a critical role in the agricultural supply chain.
But Mexico remains self-sufficient in white corn production, a staple food for its 129 million citizens.
The GM corn ban, championed by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, follows a December ruling by a trade-dispute panel under the USMCA, which found Mexico's restrictions on GM corn imports to be in violation of the agreement. In response, Mexico lifted its import restrictions on GM corn for human, livestock and industrial use.
Mexico, widely regarded as the birthplace of modern corn, had long barred the commercial planting of GM corn, citing concerns that such strains could contaminate the country's native varieties.
But Sheinbaum's latest reform goes further by embedding the ban into Mexico's Constitution. The legislation, approved by a decisive 409-69 vote, designates native corn as an "element of national identity" and prohibits the planting of GM corn nationwide.
The legislation was also approved 97-16 in the Senate last week.
The Agricultural Markets Consulting Group, a prominent consultancy in Mexico, previously warned that the new legislation could create "uncertainty" in trade relations with the U.S.
What People Are Saying
**The text of Mexico's reform states: "**Any other use of genetically modified corn must be evaluated ... to be free of threats to the biosecurity, health and biocultural heritage of Mexico and its population."
The Agricultural Markets Consulting Group said in a recent report, per Reuters: "Following the adverse ruling by the USMCA dispute panel, the insistence on these restrictions is likely to trigger retaliatory measures by the US government."
What Happens Next
The measure must now be approved by the local legislatures of at least 17 of the country's 32 states, where the ruling Morena party has a majority.
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