Peasant and Indigenous Communities´ Right to Food Sovereignty under International Economic Law. Reflections on the US- Mexico Genetically Modified Corn Dispute

Abstract

The US- Mexico GM corn dispute is particularly illustrative of two conflicting visions on the impact of international trade agreements on food sovereignty, one promoted in international economic law during the age of globalization and one emerging during the current deglobalization. The first vision, defended by the US, considers corn as a simple commodity, and enhances the constraints on states food sovereignty under free trade agreements. The second one is embraced by Mexico, who conceives maize as more than a simple commodity through a quest for the recognition of developing states´ food sovereignty within a system of a more sustainable trade in agri-food products. The pursuit of this vision in Mexico´s domestic law might influence a future reform of USMCA´s rules on trade in agricultural products in line with the changing role of sovereignty in international economic law in the age of deglobalization.