Minister Ritz Heading to Washington to Reinforce Canada's Firm Stance on COOL

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is leading an industry delegation to Washington, D.C., this week to reinforce Canada's position on United States (U.S.) Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) to key industry coalitions and members of the newly elected U.S. House and Senate...

COOL continues to significantly disrupt the North American supply chain, create unpredictability in the market, and impose additional costs on producers on both sides of the border.

Last fall, the World Trade Organization (WTO) released its Compliance Panel report confirming that the U.S. COOL requirements for beef and pork are a blatant breach of international obligations. Canada will continue to fully assert our rights to achieve a fair resolution, including seeking authorization to implement retaliatory measures on U.S. agricultural and non-agricultural products if and as necessary...

This has been excerpted from 3 February 2015 news release by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.