USMEF Board of Directors Meeting & International Buyers Conference, May 2...
Brochure, Registration Form and Sponsors Unofficial Translation of NOM - NMX-FF-081-SCFI-2003
Newly Published Mexican Norm Applicable to Pork Products, Carcasses, and Pork Fresh-grading.
Below is the English language translation of the legal documents filed by the U.S. coalition consisting of USMEF, the National Pork Producers Council and the American Meat Institute on behalf of the U.S. pork industry regarding Mexico's pork antidumping investigation. This filing was presented to the Mexican Ministry of Economics on March 19, 2003, and the full English translation is now available here.
U.S. Pork Coalition Brief - English Translation
This information is intended for USMEF Members ONLY. Please do not distribute.
Mexico Farm Accord Proposes Trade Changes To NAFTA
Mexican government officials and farmers signed a sweeping trade accord on Monday which includes plans to ask the United States and Canada to restrict corn and bean exports to Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The 62-page agreement is intended as a template for widespread changes to Mexico’s rural infrastructure and state farm policy, with hopes of modernizing Mexico's outdated agricultural system. Mexican farmers insist they cannot compete against foreign goods from the U.S. and Canada in the current arrangement of NAFTA.
The trade accord calls for a thorough review of all conditions for farm imports in general, and for "defense mechanisms" in cases of dumping or unfair competition. The Mexican government pledged to ask the U.S. and Canada to accept new restrictions on their white corn and bean exports to Mexico. Mexico is asking for a suspension of white corn import quotas except in cases where local supply has run dry, and it is investigating the status of bean imports to decide whether to impose import safeguards or antidumping measures.
Changes in trade rules proposed by the accord would not be seen until next year at the earliest, according to Angel Villalobos, Mexico's deputy minister in charge of international trade negotiations. But Canada and the U.S. have expressed strong reservations regarding any changes to NAFTA, which has been in effect since 1994.