Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, today issued the following statement on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) latest and final decision on the U.S. Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) policy:
“For the fourth time, the WTO has ruled against the United States’ COOL policy, reaffirming Canada’s long-standing position that these measures are blatantly protectionist and discriminate against Canada.
“The decision is final, without the possibility of further appeal.
“The United States has used and exhausted all possible means to avoid its international obligations, damaging our highly integrated North American supply chain and hurting producers and processors on both sides of the border.
“Once again, we call on the United States to cease this harmful policy and repeal COOL’s provisions against beef and pork, removing this unnecessary trade barrier.
“In light of the final ruling, and due to the fact that the United States has continued to discriminate against Canadian livestock products, Canada will be seeking authority from the WTO to use retaliatory measures on U.S. agricultural and non-agricultural products.
“In June 2013, Canada released a proposed list of targeted U.S. imports, and we are now preparing our request to retaliate.
“Our government stands on the side of Canadian farmers and ranchers, and we will continue to protect all hardworking Canadians throughout this retaliatory process.”
For more information on the proposed retaliatory measures, please consult the 2013 Canada Gazette notice seeking comments on the proposed list of targeted U.S. imports.
For details of the WTO report on COOL, please visit Appellate Body issues report on United States—Country of origin labelling requirements.
Source: AAFC