The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) has informed the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States that it intends to study, and prepare a special report upon, the potential effects of transgenic corn on traditional varieties of maize in Mexico. This issue has been a source of public concern for several years and the CEC Secretariat has received numerous requests to initiate this analysis. As with other reports initiated by the Secretariat under Article 13 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the study will include input from competent international and national organizations, sector organizations, the private sector, interested members of civil society, as well as the three NAAEC Parties.

The CEC was established by Canada, Mexico and the United States to build cooperation among the North American Free Trade (NAFTA) partners in implementing NAAEC, the environmental side accord to NAFTA. The CEC addresses environmental issues of continental concern, with particular attention to the environmental challenges and opportunities presented by continent-wide free trade.