New Labelling Rules UnCOOL

(Embassy Magazine)

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack’s efforts to tighten up American country-of-origin labelling rules for livestock provoked strong reactions from farmers and meat industry officials during appearances before the [Canadian] Commons’ Agriculture committee last week.

A number of industry representatives said exports to the U.S. have already slowed by as much as two-thirds for some products, and once the final rules are in place this month, Canadian farmers will be hit even harder.

Some witnesses called on the Canadian government to relaunch its WTO challenge of the rules, which was put on hold in January. Others, however, said getting a ruling will take too long and the government – including Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself – must work American legislators and the Obama administration now.

“The White House really has to be alerted to this grim situation,” Martin Rice, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council, told committee members on March 5. “And in terms of getting their attention, our view is that it really has to come from our central agency, the Prime Minister’s Office in particular, to alert the White House that this is a problem that’s not just going to affect Canadians, it’s going to affect U.S., because if you take away 10% more of U.S. processors’ raw material, they are not going to be able to continue in business as they are.” Read more here.