Mexico is considering a boycott of corn from the United States, in response to repeated economic threats made by President Donald Trump, reports Texas Standard.
Mexico is a major purchaser of U.S. corn, as the grain is used for tortillas south of the border. A Mexican corn boycott would deeply wound parts of the rural U.S., including much of the High Plains. Many corn-based agricultural communities voted in heavy numbers for Trump last November, and the woes that would stem from such a boycott may not have been what these regions were bargaining for.
Mexico’s deputy economy minister Juan Carlos Baker recently told the Financial Times that Mexico is currently negotiating with Argentina and Brazil to offer them a trade deal similar to the one now enjoyed by the United States with NAFTA.
The threat of a corn boycott is occurring after Trump stated that he intends to direct his administration to re-negotiate NAFTA to make the deal more favorable to the U.S.