Mexican president Vicente Fox issued an executive decree on Tuesday to suspend a controversial 20% import tax on the US high fructose corn syrup, a widely used ingredient by the soft drink industry. The country's Congress introduced the tax in January in a bid to boost the domestic sugar industry, which is struggling under the weight of a growing surplus that now stands at around 600,000 metric tons. For the last four years, the Mexican government has petitioned the US to increase its quota of sugar from Mexico.