Archer Daniels Midland Archives

Archer Daniels Midland

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April 23, 2024

Not just Mexico – US worries over barriers to agricultural trade across the world

By Johnathan Hettinger

From Algeria to Vietnam, Norway to Nigeria, and the European Union to China, regulation of agriculture biotechnology by countries around the world is creating increasingly concerning barriers to US agriculture and technology trade, according to a recent report from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

The report shows the US government is highly concerned about what it sees as inconsistent and unscientific regulation of farm chemicals and genetically modified crops that are widely used in the United States but are subjects of concern abroad. Farmers in the United States annually spray millions of pounds of pesticides that are banned in other countries, including the EU, China and Brazil.

Among other concerns, the US cites “excessive” requests for data on certain products and expresses frustration that the EU seeks to ban pesticides until they are proven safe, instead of approving pesticides until they are proven unsafe.

In a 394-page report, the USTR detailed a range of concerns with specific countries, including those related to its ongoing bitter battle with Mexico over genetically modified crops (GMOs).

Mexico has not approved a new genetically modified cotton variety since at least 2018, the report notes, despite the cultivation of GMO cotton in Mexico for more than 25 years “with no evidence of adverse impact on the environment, biodiversity, or animal or plant health.” US officials are continuing to press the country on the issue, just as they are on Mexico’s restrictions on GMO corn. The US has also battled with Mexico over its efforts to ban glyphosate weed killer, developed by Monsanto.

In another example cited in the report, the US government complains that Taiwan’s decision to ban genetically modified food in school meal programs is not based on science.

Yet, the document makes it clear that the question of science is also a concern in the countries at odds with the US. Many other countries have expressed concern with what they see as the United States’ lax pesticide laws, driven not by science but by corporate influence.

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March 21, 2024

‘We are defending your products:’ Emails reveal coordination between US government, industry in foreign trade disputes

By Johnathan Hettinger and Carey Gillam

Against the backdrop of a fierce battle between the United States and Mexico over the safety of certain farming products, newly obtained government communications provide fresh evidence of how powerful corporate interests often drive US officials to meddle in foreign affairs.

The records are the latest to emerge that show how tightly the US government works with global crop and chemical companies to try to block other governments around the world from placing restrictions on pesticides and, as in the case of Mexico, on certain genetically modified crops.

The US is currently embroiled in a bitter trade battle with Mexico, but also has waged war against Thailand and the European Union over efforts to ban pesticides that are key to the corporate profits of companies such as Bayer and Syngenta.

The newly obtained emails add to earlier revelations, also found in government records, by providing greater detail about how the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), the federal agency responsible for American trade policy, works to benefit agrochemical companies while shrugging off evidence presented by foreign governments that pesticides are posing dire risks to the safety of their environment and their citizens.

Similarly, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are shown in the emails helping push back against countries that try to ban pesticides linked to human health issues and the demise of crucial species.

The latest batch documents were obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity and provided to The New Lede (TNL).

“Trade now poses one of the biggest barriers to keeping pesticides in wide use in the US, and pesticide companies are taking notice,” said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The US can’t keep using pesticides at this rate if other countries won’t buy our contaminated food, so the focus has now turned to quashing any attempt by smaller countries to protect their citizens and their food supply.”

“The push is coming from the US government but it’s at the behest of pesticide companies,” he said. “It’s basically soft imperialism with our government as the puppet and large corporations pulling the strings.”