Canadian beef and hog producers want the wings of country of origin labelling (COOL) clipped, claiming the regulation violates the United States’ trade obligations.
A coalition formed by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Canadian Pork Council warns trade actions could be launched if COOL legislation passes in its present form under the 2007 U.S. farm bill.
The coalition, known as Canadian Livestock Producers Against COOL (CLiP COOL) is calling on Ottawa to express these concerns to the U.S. government in the strongest possible terms.
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“We are trying to draw attention to the potential for a Canadian trade action on this,” said pork council manager Martin Rice.The newest rendition of the labelling law passed by the House of Representatives as part of the farm bill so Canadians are hoping the U.S. Senate realizes it could violate rules under the North American Free Trade Agreement or the World Trade Organization.
“Everybody would be looking at the Senate side now as the place where we can find a champion or two to say ‘why are we doing something that would violate our trade obligations with Canada and Mexico?’ ” said Rice.
The Senate examines the farm bill in September and if COOL passes into law no one knows how the U.S. Department of Agriculture would interpret it.
The coalition hopes to see it modified so hogs or cattle would be treated the same as U.S. animals in the meat processing and retailing system.
COOL could be substantially different by the time it is published, said Hugh Lynch-Staunton, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
“We won’t know what we are getting into without the full regulations. We think there is a willingness to make this commercially friendly,” he said.
Some American retailers may decide to stop stocking Canadian beef because labelling is too cumbersome. It could also place the feeder trade at risk.
Canada is also informally talking with Mexico, Australia and New Zealand as members of the Five Nations Beef Alliance. All members export beef to the U.S. where it is often blended with the domestic product. The U.S. is also a member of the alliance.
Canada has been reluctant to write its own labelling law because it supports freer trade within the NAFTA region, said Lynch-Staunton.
The legislation was first proposed in the 2002 U.S. farm bill. It refers to commodities like muscle cuts of beef, lamb, goat, pork, ground meats, fish, perishable agriculture commodities and peanuts. Poultry products and food service outlets were excluded.
Implementation has been delayed twice when concerns were raised on both countries over added costs.
At this point it is expected to become law Sept. 30, 2008.
