Farmscape for May 20, 2015
Canada's Minister of International Trade is calling on the United States to repeal Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling or face the prospects of retaliatory tariffs on a range of imported U.S. commodities.
The federal government has announced it will apply for authority to impose retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of imported U.S. products following the World Trade Organization rejection of the final U.S. appeal of a series of rulings which found Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling violates U.S. trade obligations.
International Trade Minister Ed Fast says Canada has clearly and concisely stated it's intention to retaliate should the U.S. continue to ignore its international trade obligations and not fix COOL.
Clip-Ed Fast-Canadian Minister of International Trade:
No one should doubt our resolve to retaliate.
Sadly this is a road that we did not choose to travel.
The only appropriate fix for this issue is for the United States to pass legislation that would completely repeal COOL immediately.
That would bring the U.S. into compliance with its legal obligations allowing us to put the WTO and retaliation issues behind us.
A growing number of senior political and industry people stateside are calling upon the U.S. administration to do exactly that, namely repeal COOL.
Those American stakeholders know very well that COOL is harming the U.S. industry more than it could ever help American consumers.
In partnership with our industry we have been battling COOL for the better part of a decade
It's time for the U.S. to do the right thing and fix the discrimination caused by COOL.
Canada and Mexico jointly call upon the United States to repeal COOL legislation and comply with its very clear international obligations.
Fast says our government will continue to stand with our Canadian beef and pork sectors and work with all of those throughout the U.S. and Mexico who know that COOL must go.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.
*Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council