DAUPHIN, Man. — If the stars line up just right in the U.S. midterm elections, Canada’s drawn-out battle over country-of-origin labeling may finally be resolved, says the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association trade expert.
Americans vote Nov. 4 in mid-term elections, and polls suggest the Republican Party may win a majority of seats in the Senate.
If that happens, there may be sufficient political will in Washington to fix COOL through legislation, said John Masswohl, the CCA’s director of government and international relations.
“What it does in Washington is it changes the gatekeepers. It changes the people who get to decide what the Senate works on and what the Congress works on,” Masswohl said yesterday at a CCA town hall meeting in Dauphin, Man.
Read Also
U.S. complaints about protectionist Canadian dairy policy hypocritical, report argues
Despite criticisms of Canadian dairy policy, the American dairy industry has many of the same protectionist tendencies Canada does, writes Al Mussell in a new policy paper.
“The people who have been there at the gates like COOL the way it is.”
On Oct. 20, the World Trade Organization ruled, as expected, that U.S. amendments to its COOL regulations were insufficient. The WTO decided the U.S. labelling law still discriminates against imports of live hogs and cattle into the United States from Canada and other countries.
Dave Solverson, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said COOL is costing the Canadian cattle and hog sectors an estimated $1.1 billion annually in lost sales and lower prices for Canadian livestock sold into the U.S.
The Canadian government has vowed to implement retaliatory tariffs on U.S. wine, juice and a long list of other goods unless America comes into compliance with the WTO ruling.
It’s expected the U.S. will appeal the WTO decision, postponing the final decision until next summer or later.
But if the Republicans take the Senate, the U.S. Congress could pass legislation to reform COOL, Masswohl said.
“We’ve been in a pretty good place, in terms of the House of Representatives wanting to resolve this thing.”
Republicans need to gain six seats to control the Senate. CNN reported Monday that seven out of 10 Americans are unhappy with the country’s direction. Polls indicate that Republicans are destined to pick up Senate seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. They may also win Senate races in the southern U.S. and Iowa.
Masswohl said Republican senator Pat Roberts is key when it comes to COOL. If the GOP gains control, he may become chair of the influential Senate agricultural committee.
“Senator Roberts from Kansas hates COOL…. He is on the record saying COOL needs to be fixed.”
