This week the World Trade Organization (WTO) Compliance Panel made public its report regarding U.S. mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), confirming that Canada has won another important and decisive victory at the WTO on COOL.
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA) welcomed the Panel report as it unequivocally supports Canada's position that the U.S. amendments to the COOL regulation continue the discrimination against live imports of cattle and hogs into the U.S. marketplace.
This latest ruling once again confirms that the U.S. mandatory COOL rules unfairly discriminate against Canadian cattle and hog export
COOL adds substantial costs to the integrated North American meat and livestock industry while providing no meaningful benefit to consumers. It also prevents U.S. processors from co-mingling U.S. beef and pork with meat from Canadian cattle and hogs resulting in the need to segregate livestock. Segregation adds higher costs for companies using livestock born or raised outside of the U.S. along with additional costs for producers. Consumers are also impacted through higher meat prices.
The ruling released this is a positive step for Saskatchewan producers.
The next step in the WTO process will be adoption of the report at a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). Adoption of the report, which can be delayed only by a U.S. appeal, would trigger Canada's rights to compensation or retaliation. If the U.S. files an appeal and Canada once again wins, Canada would be authorized to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports.
The impact of COOL on the combined Canadian cattle and hog sectors was estimated in 2012 to be over one billion dollars.
Although the impact has increased since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) amended the regulation in 2013. "The compliance panel report leaves no shadow of a doubt that the U.S. COOL legislation is causing discrimination against live imports of cattle and hogs into the U.S. marketplace," said Canadian Cattlemen Association President Dave Solverson. "Until COOL comes into compliance with the WTO, the CCA will continue to insist that the Government of Canada prepare to impose prohibitively high tariffs on key U.S. exports to Canada, including beef."
The CCA will continue to work with the Government of Canada to prepare to impose tariffs on U.S. exports selected from a list of targeted commodities released in June 2013.
COOL is a protectionist measure that hurts producers and negatively affects the entire supply chain on both sides of the border and it should be scrapped.
