It is not the outcome pork industry producers were hoping for from across Canada or our neighbours in the U.S.
On Monday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that all meat products sold with a ‘Product of the U.S.A.” label be derived from animals raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.
There is disappointment coming from the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) and industry partners south of the border.
The policy, known as voluntary country of original labelling (V-COOL), will come into effect by January 1, 2026.
One of the toughest realizations were that comments from Canadian and American industry leaders were not taken into consideration before a final rule was decided on by Sec. Vilsack.
“Our comments, and the comments from our American counterparts, were aligned, because the Canadian and American pork industries serve as an example of international trade that benefits both sides. This regulation will force division into an aligned industry that will only increase costs for producers, for processors, and ultimately for consumers,” said CPC chair René Roy.
“The integration within our industry on both sides of the border has been a point of pride for us, and for our American counterparts at the National Pork Producers Council,” Roy added.
“These changes, like the original mandatory policy successfully challenged at the World Trade Organization (WTO), will have an impact on trade in the integrated Canada/U.S. market, and we are again expressing our disappointment that the final rule did not consider the concerns expressed by Canada and by our American colleagues.”
The original law, which sought to enforce mandatory country of origin labelling, was repealed by the United States Congress in 2015 following a 2014 ruling by the WTO that found the labelling regulations discriminated against Canada and Mexico. Canada and Mexico were granted the authority to impose retaliatory tariffs if the original country of origin labelling restrictions were not removed.
Source : Saskpork