The award was the result of a claim Corn Products submitted to arbitration in 2003 under the investment protection provisions of NAFTA arising out of a tax Mexico had imposed on beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. In 2008, the NAFTA Tribunal found that the tax violated NAFTA's national treatment provisions by discriminating in favor of domestic producers of cane sugar.
Mexico made this payment pursuant to an agreement with Corn Products International that provides for terminating pending post-award litigation and waiving post-award interest.