This release was issued under a previous government.
“Time and time again the WTO has clearly supported Alberta and Canada’s position that the U.S. government is failing to meet its trade obligations because of the excessive labelling, tracking and segregation requirements placed on Canadian beef and pork imports. It’s time for the American government to do what is right and put an end to this blatantly discriminatory trade barrier.”
“Alberta stands united with our cattle and hog industries in our opposition to COOL, which is imposing more than a billion dollars annually in unnecessary costs and harms businesses, workers and farmers on both sides of the border. We fully support the Canadian government’s ongoing actions to bring an end to COOL and that includes implementing retaliatory trade measures on U.S. products if necessary.”
COOL requires that meat derived from animals born, reared or slaughtered outside the U.S. must be labelled to indicate the country or countries involved.
In November 2011, the WTO ruled that COOL is a violation of trade rules. The WTO decision was upheld in June 2012, following a U.S. appeal.
On October 20, 2014, a WTO compliance panel released its report that revised COOL measures continue to be inconsistent with the U.S. government’s trade obligations.