Canadian pork officials are pleased with the U.S. Congress’s repeal of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling. Canadian Pork Council Executive Director Martin Rice says the repeal avoids a billion dollars in retaliation by Canada and Mexico over what the WTO determined was a trade distorting law. Rice says it will take some time for Canadian pork producers to recover from the negative effects of COOL.
He says COOL repeal will help foster better trade between Canada and the U.S.
Even though Canada won’t now impose retaliatory tariffs as a result of the repeal of COOL, Rice says they’ll go through the process anyway to put the WTO decision into the record.
A Canadian trade official called the COOL repeal a real vindication of the power and significance of the WTO dispute resolution mechanism.