MEXICO CITY, MEXICO — Mexico will not make any additional changes to its decree on genetically modified (GM) corn ahead of a dispute settlement panel requested by the United States, according to Raquel Buenrostro, Mexico's economy minister, Reuters reported in an exclusive.

On Aug. 17, the United States requested formation of the dispute panel with the Mexican government under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Chapter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to address its complaint that Mexico’s ban on genetically modified corn violates the free-trade deal.

In mid-February Mexico modified its 2020-issued ban on GM corn, allowing for its use in animal feed and in the making of consumer products such as cosmetics, textile and paper.

It maintained the ban on GM corn for human consumption, specifically in the use of making tortillas.

“It’s already written ... it’s already in the decree,” Buenrostro told Reuters, referring to allowing GM corn in animal feed, a key concern for US and Mexican industrialists. “That is why care was taken to give the definition of corn for human food.”

Tortillas are mostly made with white corn, most of which is domestic production. The country imports about $5 billion in corn from the United States each year, most of it yellow GM corn for livestock feed.

The trade dispute escalated last week after technical consultations in March and dispute settlement consultations in June did not resolve the differences. The United States contends Mexico’s biotechnology polices are not based on science and will disrupt US trade with Mexico.