Proposed U.S. legislation could see distributors fined for meat that is improperly labelled as “Made in the USA,” but industry experts north of the border say it is unlikely to pass muster. The bill would set out processor fines of US$5,000 per pound of beef that doesn’t meet label standards. COOL, or country-of-origin labelling, surged […] Read more
Tag Archives country-of-origin labelling
U.S. COOL proposal unlikely to affect Canadian beef
Tabled legislation would see processors fined per pound of improperly marked meat
Editorial: U.S. looks to revive COOL
Should we be able to judge a food by its ‘cover’? Regulatory agencies and policy makers think so. The ‘cover’ in this case is not the company branding on the product packaging, but the labels used to inform consumers where a food originated, or what it contains or doesn’t contain. Last July Health Canada published […] Read more
Momentum builds for Product of USA label
American cattle producers support the Biden administration as it forges ahead with ‘top to bottom’ review of meat labels
Glacier FarmMedia – It’s nearly a certainty that America will change its Product of the USA label for meat. President Joe Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack seem determined to clear up confusion over the voluntary labeling program and make it easier to understand. In the first week of July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture […] Read more
Guenther: Canada’s beef export sector waiting, watching
As speculation swirls around U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to renegotiate NAFTA, officials with Canada’s beef industry are taking a measured approach. They’re not ignoring the possibility of trade disruptions in the U.S., said Ryder Lee, CEO of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association — “but neither are we lighting our hair on fire yet at each […] Read more
Cattle producers urge trade fight if Trump revives COOL
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian cattle producers will urge Ottawa to retaliate against the U.S. if the incoming Trump administration imposes a meat labelling program it views as discriminatory, restarting a six-year trade battle, an industry group said on Wednesday. U.S. news network CNN reported on Tuesday that a memo drafted by President-elect Donald Trump’s […] Read more
Mexico halts bid for COOL retaliation
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico has halted a bid to impose retaliatory trade measures on the U.S. over meat labeling rules after U.S. lawmakers repealed them this week, a Mexican government official said. Mexico had announced earlier this month it would start internal procedures to strip benefits from some U.S. agricultural and industrial imports, […] Read more
U.S. Congress repeals COOL on beef, pork
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have both approved a repeal of the government’s six-year old mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) laws on beef and pork. Tucked into an omnibus appropriations bill put before Congress Friday, the repeal shuts the door on a major irritant in North American trade relations and is expected to curb […] Read more
Clock ticking to avoid North American food fight
Winnipeg | Reuters –– The North American spat pitting Canada and Mexico against the U.S. over meat labels has sown confusion among producers and shippers in all three countries, with a trade war potentially just weeks away. The World Trade Organization on Monday authorized Canada and Mexico, the biggest markets for exported U.S. goods, to […] Read more
Trudeau says prefers to avoid COOL retaliation on U.S.
Ottawa | Reuters –– Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he would prefer not to apply sanctions against the U.S. over a meat labeling dispute, but at the same time warned that he would stand up for Canada’s farmers. Earlier this week, the World Trade Organization authorized an annual retaliation level of $1.055 billion for […] Read more
WTO dials back Canada’s COOL retaliation
Canada will be able to take only about a third of the revenge it asked the World Trade Organization to authorize over the United States’ country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law. An arbitration panel of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) ruled Monday that Canada and Mexico may now ask the DSB to authorize annual retaliatory tariffs, […] Read more
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