The fate of country-of-origin labelling legislation in the United States could lie in a bill headed to Congress on Wednesday.
Tom Sullivan, a lobbyist in Washington for Saskatchewan and Alberta, told reporters on a conference call today that the text of the legislation would be available that evening.
“The country-of-origin legislation is in flux,” he said.
“A fix that will hopefully prevent retaliatory measures from Canada and Mexico is in the works up on Capitol Hill, and we are hopeful that that be included in what is called the omnibus appropriations bill that will be passed by the House of Representatives this Wednesday and then on short order passed by the Senate and gotten to the president for signature.”
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Canada and Mexico both got the green light Dec. 7 to implement $780 million and $228 million, respectively, in retaliation. The House of Representatives has previously voted to repeal COOL but the Senate has not.
Saskatchewan agriculture minister Lyle Stewart said this is likely the last chance to fix the ongoing trade irritant for some time.
“I don’t think we can fool around,” he said. “Realistically, probably the next chance won’t come until after the next presidential election.”
If COOL is not dealt with in Wednesday’s bill, Stewart said he would encourage the federal government to immediately proceed with retaliatory action.
The list of products targeted for retaliatory tariffs include those from states where political leaders support COOL.
“This is not a list that we had a lot of input into but we do recognize that it’s strategic and we do support it,” Stewart said.
Canadian consumers could face price increases or shortages of some products, but Stewart said the hurt would be far greater to the exporters.
He added if Canada is expected to follow World Trade Organization rules, so should its trading partners.
“If we don’t take a stand on this one, that’s been a blatant violation now for eight years and ruled against four times, I don’t know where we ever do take a stand.”
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
