Threat of Retaliation Expected to Result in Repeal of Mandatory COOL

Farmscape for May 21, 2015

Saskatchewan's Minister of Agriculture is confident the World Trade Organization's final ruling on U.S. Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling will result in repeal of the legislation.
On Monday the World Trade Organization upheld a series of previous rulings that Mandatory U.S. Country of Origin Labelling discriminates against imported Canadian and Mexican livestock in violation of its international trade obligations, opening the door for Canada and Mexico to apply to impose retaliatory tariffs on a range of imported U.S. products.
Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart says retaliation is never a good thing so we want to see COOL repealed so retaliation won't be necessary.

Clip-Lyle Stewart-Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister:
We're very hopeful that COOL will be repealed this summer and that the federal government does not have to proceed with retaliatory measures against U.S. products coming into Canada.
The federal government has already gone to the World Trade Organization to get a ruling from them as to the extent of retaliatory measures that they can take and they'll get that ruling later this summer.
I'm sure they'll go straight into retaliation if they don't at least see dramatic progress at repealing COOL down in the United States.
We don't want that happen.
We want COOL to be repealed.
Retaliation back and forth is never a good thing but it's a necessary piece to getting this COOL thing fixed.
Without the threat of retaliation I don't think the United States would ever have got to the point where they're at today.
Already legislation has been introduced into Congress to repeal COOL so that is moving at warp speed for the United States system.

Stewart says this has never been a labelling issue, it's a non tariff trade barrier.
He says segregation of Canadian livestock drives up costs to U.S processors and consumers and drives down returns for Canada's livestock producers.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

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