February 1, 2008

Mexican farmers protest lifting of corn tariffs under NAFTA

Thousands of farmers clogged Mexico City Thursday (January 31, 2008)  to protest the lifting of corn tariffs under a free trade agreement, which they say is hurting their pockets.

Corn is a staple food in Mexico.

Angry farmers demanded equal treatment with farmers in the US and Canada.

A provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement lifting tariffs on corn kicked in on Jan. 1, 14 years after the agreement between the three neighbors came into being.

Many farmers in Mexico have been against NAFTA from the start, but their protest has escalated as the date for lifting corn tariffs approached.

Mexico's chief farmers' union - the National Peasant Confederation, or CNC - with more than five million members, has also warned against NAFTA regulations lifting tariffs on milk and sugar cane products.

Farmers also say that government subsidies their counterparts in Canada and the US receive are unfair. CNC said farmers get some US$20,000 in annual subsidies in the US compared to only US$700 in Mexico.

They also complain of mounting fuel, fertiliser and electricity prices, which placed them at a severe disadvantage to their northern competitors.

The farmers and opposition politicians are insisting that some NAFTA provisions be renegotiated, but the three NAFTA governments refuse to do so.