Canada to Seek WTO Authorization in Response to Country of Origin Labelling

Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, today announced that Canada will seek World Trade Organization (WTO) authorization to impose over $3 billion in retaliatory measures against U.S. exports to Canada.

Canada’s request for authorization to retaliate, filed today with the WTO, will be considered by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on June 17, 2015.

On May 18, 2015, the WTO ruled for the fourth time against the U.S. country of original labelling (COOL) requirements, reaffirming Canada’s long-standing position that these measures violate the U.S.’s international trade obligations and discriminate against Canadian cattle and hogs. The decision was final and without the possibility of further appeal.

With the final WTO decision, the Canadian government once again calls on the United States to immediately repeal the COOL measures on beef and pork to meet its trade obligations or face retaliation.

Since the implementation of the U.S. COOL requirements in 2008, producers and processors on both sides of the border have been harmed by this unnecessary trade barrier. Damages to the Canadian livestock industry are estimated to be more than $3 billion annually, and Canada will ask the WTO for authority to impose retaliation measures up to that amount. Once WTO authorization is received, Canada will choose how and when to retaliate.

Source: AAFC