Ottawa, ON) March 23, 2012– The Canadian Pork industry is disappointed to learn the United States has decided to appeal a World Trade Organization panel decision that struck down discriminatory and trade distorting elements of the U.S. Country of Origin labeling (COOL) legislation as it applies to imported livestock.
“COOL increase costs and create inefficiencies without improving consumer information ,” stated the Canadian Pork Council’s Chair, Jean-Guy Vincent “An integrated North American market is more competitive and sustainable for all producers in the long run, and allows all of us to be more competitive globally”.
The Canadian Pork Council and its members from Ontario and Manitoba worked in collaboration with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to provide the analysis to support the government’s efforts to establish that important element of COOL are not consistent with U.S. WTO obligations. The WTO Panel confirmed that the legislation restricted market access and was a technical barrier to the movement of live swine into the U.S. market.
“Canada clearly won all three points that we challenged and the WTO panel ruled that COOL discriminates against Canadian livestock and is inconsistent with WTO rules ,” added Mr Vincent.
The CPC serves as the national voice for hog producers in Canada. A federation of nine provincial pork industry associations, our organization’s purpose is to play a leadership role in achieving and maintaining a dynamic and prosperous Canadian pork sector.
For more information, contact:
Gary Stordy
Public Relations Manager
Canadian Pork Council
613-236-9239 Ext. 277
stordy@cpc-ccp.com
