Corn syrup shippers welcome WTO appellate ruling against Mexican tax

Corn syrup shippers welcome WTO appellate ruling against Mexican tax    The Washington-based Corn Refiners Association applauded the World Trade Organization Appellate Body ruling Monday, which reconfirmed that Mexico’s tax on beverages containing high fructose corn syrup violates the country’s international trade commitments.
   In January 2002, the Mexican Congress enacted a 20 percent tax on high fructose corn syrup, which effectively shut out access in Mexico to U.S. exports of this commodity for more than four years.
   Losses of $944 million in high fructose sales, or about 168 million bushels of corn, are sustained by the U.S. industry each year the tax has been in place, according to the Corn Refiners Association.
   The WTO issued a final ruling on the high fructose corn syrup case in favor of the United States on Oct. 7, 2005, which was later appealed by the Mexican government. The WTO Appellate Body’s March 6 ruling upholds the decisions of the final WTO panel report and sides with the United States on all counts.