Canadian Pork Producers Disappointed with U.S. Decision to Appeal WTO M-COOL Decision

Mar 26, 2012

By Bruce Cochrane.

Canada's pork producers are expressing disappointment with a U.S. decision to appeal a November 2011 World Trade Organization ruling that found Mandatory U.S. Country of Origin Labelling violates the United States' international trade obligations.

Mandatory U.S. Country of Origin Labelling, implemented in 2008, requires a range of food products including fresh pork and beef to be identified at retail according to their country of origin.

In November a World Trade Organization panel investigating complaints from Canada and Mexico ruled the law affords imported livestock treatment less favorable than that accorded to like domestic livestock and is inconsistent with U.S. trade obligations.

On Friday the U.S. notified the WTO Dispute Settlement Body of its decision to appeal the panel's findings.

Manitoba Pork Council Chair Karl Kynoch says the decision is disappointing.

Chair Karl Kynoch-Manitoba Pork Council:
Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Full Interview

Now that the U.S. has appealed the ruling that is basically going to add a lot longer time period to get the resolve to it.

It's going to add another three months right now just to go through the appeal process and then we'll have to wait to see what the U.S. does after that.

What we'd like to see is just a resolve come to this really soon but now that it's been appealed we're going to be in this for another three months and after that then it might have to go back through the farm bill or be attached to another bill so it's going to take a long time to get a resolve out of this.

We're going to see another one to two years before we get a final and complete resolve out of this.

The Canadian producers are very disappointed to see that it was appealed because they were looking forward to getting it resolved and being able to re-develop some of the relationships that they have with the U.S. producers in trading the baby pigs back and forth.

Kynoch observes mandatory COOL has really hurt the Canadian weanling industry and there are still barns sitting empty because the U.S. market for Canadian weanlings has dried up.

He notes the U.S. and Canadian and pork industries have enjoyed good relations in the past and U.S. pork producers have never supported COOL.

Video: Shearing Delay Leads To Kingston 4H Sheep Show!

What started as a disappointment turned into a day full of surprises, fun, and celebration as we leave Ewetopia Farms behind and head out to the Kingston Fair to watch the 4H sheep show

Today’s vlog was supposed to be another sheep shearing day here at Ewetopia Farms, but when our shearer had to cancel, we suddenly found ourselves with an unexpected free day. Lucky for us, the Kingston Fair was happening — and some of our own sheep (and friends) were competing!

We brought along our shearing helper and headed to the fairgrounds to cheer on the 4H kids and see how our sheep did in the show. From last-minute preparations and sheep showmanship to market lamb competitions and ewe classes, we take you behind the scenes of what it’s really like at a country fair.

We couldn’t be prouder — our girls walked away with wins in both showmanship and breeding ewe classes! Afterwards, we toured the fair, met a beekeeper with fascinating insights, admired other livestock shows, and wrapped up the evening with motocross stunts and a demolition derby!

Sometimes farm life throws curveballs — but today, it gave us the chance to celebrate community, our sheep, and the next generation of shepherds.