Saskatchewan will use hired guns for Canada’s showdown with American cattle producers who want to close the border to Canadian exports.
Washington, D.C., law firm Cameron and Hornbostel will represent the provincial government in United States Department of Commerce hearings into that country’s beef imports. Some American producers claim that Canadian and Mexican cattle are unfairly subsidized. They blame foreign cattle for depressing the price of beef.
A group of producers from the northwestern states, called the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Foundation, has petitioned the commerce department and the U.S. International Trade Commission to consider imposing countervailing duties on foreign cattle.
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They argue that Canadian cattle are subsidized in many ways, including cheap feed from the Canadian Wheat Board. Canadian producers deny the allegations.
Saskatchewan’s Washington lawyers will review the province’s legal submissions, file and obtain documents used in the case, speak for the province at hearings and ensure that the department of commerce follows its own regulations.
Hal Cushon, of Saskatchewan Agriculture, said the province believes it needs Washington lawyers to make sure Canadian beef producers are treated fairly.
“As we move to more world-based trade, things are getting more quasi-judicial,” Cushon said. “It’s moved into a realm where we need good legal representation.”
Even though the dispute deals with international trade, the commerce department investigation will follow U.S. law only.
Cushon said the government’s lawyer, Michelle Sherman, previously worked on a case in which American hog producers launched a trade action against live pig imports from Canada.
The province thinks the elaborate legal process could cost it $100,000.
