Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz found common cause with Mexican politicians in fighting American livestock protectionism, but less agreement on reversing Mexican protectionism against Canadian beef imports.
Mexico is a partner with Canada in fighting country-of-origin labelling rules in the United States that effectively restrict livestock imports.
Canada is threatening up to $1 billion annually in retaliation against U.S. imports if Washington does not change the rule by the May 23 deadline set by the World Trade Organization after a WTO panel decided the COOL rules are illegal protectionism.
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After meetings in Mexico City last week, Ritz told an April 11 telephone news conference that Mexico is on side with its own plan for retaliation.
However, Ritz said he received no assurances of change when he raised the decade-long dispute over restrictions on Canadian beef imports.
Mexico bans import of Canadian beef from animals older than 30 months, harking back to the BSE crisis of 2003.
Ritz said the restriction is not justified by internationally accepted standards of animal safety and risk.
He suggested a trade-off is possible
“The Mexicans are looking for access to our beef sector into Canada,” he said. “I think there’s certainly things that we can do here jointly that would address both of those issues.”
