View From the Legislature

The livestock industry and its producers won an important victory last week when the World Trade Organization (WTO) upheld an earlier ruling that Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) laws in the United States discriminated against the Canadian livestock industry.

This dispute dates back to 2008 when the United States brought in legislation that mandated a packaging label stating the country of origin for beef and pork products. Immediately, the Canadian livestock industry recognized this would have the effect of a trade barrier and over the following years the export of Canadian pork and cattle to the United States dropped considerably. The legislation resulted in a tracking nightmare for processors as livestock had to be segregated by country of origin and processing procedures had to be timed to account for livestock from different countries.

Industry and government representatives from Canada argued to the World Trade Organization that the COOL regulations were intended to dismantle the integrated market for livestock that existed between our two countries and reduce the number of livestock that went into the United States from Canada. And that certainly seemed to be the effect.

The World Trade Organization has now issued its final decision indicating that the impact of the COOL requirements amounted to a discriminatory trade practice against foreign livestock and was inconsistent with the United States WTO trade obligations.
Over the coming months, it is expected that the United States will make the necessary changes to comply with the WTO ruling.

In the short-term, the decision by the WTO is a victory for Canadian pork producers and cattle producers. In the long-term, an integrated livestock supply system that promotes trade benefits both of our countries.