CFA Applauds WTO Country of Origin Labelling Decision

OTTAWA - The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is pleased with today's ruling from the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the United States' Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) rules are inconsistent with WTO trade obligations.
 
"While the CFA has always been confident Canada would prevail in this dispute, today's decision nevertheless represents a significant victory for our beef and pork producers. This legislation has caused significant losses to our meat sectors for the past several years," said Ron Bonnett, CFA President.

"We congratulate the Government of Canada for vigorously defending the interests of Canadian producers in the international arena, be it at the WTO, or bilateral and regional trade negotiations," Bonnett remarked.

The beef and pork industries in North America operate as a single market and COOL formed non-trade barriers and added unnecessary costs for Canadian producers. "Hopefully, with today's decision, Canadian beef and pork producers will once again enjoy unrestricted access to the American market and  restore some measure of profitability for those producers," added Bonnett
 
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization, representing provincial general farm organizations as well as national and interprovincial commodity organizations from every province - over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.
 

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