(c Associated Press)
The world's top trade body ruled last week that U.S. "country-of-origin" labels on cattle and hog exports from Canada and Mexico violate international rules, a move that could lower prices on those exports.
In late 2009, the Geneva-based World Trade Organization opened an investigation into U.S. labeling rules at the request of Canada and Mexico.
The "country of origin" labeling regulation took effect in 2008. Canada and Mexico each claimed their livestock industries were hurt by a sharp drop in U.S. cattle and hog imports because the labeling raised the costs and discouraged imports of their produce.
Under country-of-origin labeling, foreign cattle and pigs had to be segregated in U.S. feedlots and packing plants, prompting some firms to deal only with American livestock.
Foreign animals also were required to have more documentation about where they came from and, in the case of cattle, had to have tags that indicated they were free of mad-cow disease.
Mexico joined Canada in opposing the country-of-origin labeling for fresh beef and pork by filing a trade complaint. The WTO panel said Friday that Canadian and Mexican livestock imports got "treatment less favorable than" U.S. domestic livestock.
The U.S. trade representative's office said it was considering all options, including appealing the decision. The Washington-based advocacy group Public Citizen denounced the ruling as another ill-advised WTO move against popular U.S. consumer and environmental measures, like the WTO's decisions on U.S. "dolphin-safe" labels and on a U.S. ban on some candy and flavored cigarettes.
Lori Wallach, director of the group's Global Trade Watch program, said the latest ruling would see "major agribusiness corporations being free to sell mystery meat in the United States" without adequate safeguards.
Canada, whose biggest foreign market for cattle and hogs is the United States, said its cattle exports dropped 23% and its hog exports dropped 36% from 2007 to 2009. Mexico also said its cattle exports to the United States - worth more than half a billion dollars a year - were hurt unfairly by what it called the "protectionist" labeling.
http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/520091-WTO_panel_rules_against_U_S_country_of_origin_labels.php
The world's top trade body ruled last week that U.S. "country-of-origin" labels on cattle and hog exports from Canada and Mexico violate international rules, a move that could lower prices on those exports.
In late 2009, the Geneva-based World Trade Organization opened an investigation into U.S. labeling rules at the request of Canada and Mexico.
The "country of origin" labeling regulation took effect in 2008. Canada and Mexico each claimed their livestock industries were hurt by a sharp drop in U.S. cattle and hog imports because the labeling raised the costs and discouraged imports of their produce.
Under country-of-origin labeling, foreign cattle and pigs had to be segregated in U.S. feedlots and packing plants, prompting some firms to deal only with American livestock.
Foreign animals also were required to have more documentation about where they came from and, in the case of cattle, had to have tags that indicated they were free of mad-cow disease.
Mexico joined Canada in opposing the country-of-origin labeling for fresh beef and pork by filing a trade complaint. The WTO panel said Friday that Canadian and Mexican livestock imports got "treatment less favorable than" U.S. domestic livestock.
The U.S. trade representative's office said it was considering all options, including appealing the decision. The Washington-based advocacy group Public Citizen denounced the ruling as another ill-advised WTO move against popular U.S. consumer and environmental measures, like the WTO's decisions on U.S. "dolphin-safe" labels and on a U.S. ban on some candy and flavored cigarettes.
Lori Wallach, director of the group's Global Trade Watch program, said the latest ruling would see "major agribusiness corporations being free to sell mystery meat in the United States" without adequate safeguards.
Canada, whose biggest foreign market for cattle and hogs is the United States, said its cattle exports dropped 23% and its hog exports dropped 36% from 2007 to 2009. Mexico also said its cattle exports to the United States - worth more than half a billion dollars a year - were hurt unfairly by what it called the "protectionist" labeling.
http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/520091-WTO_panel_rules_against_U_S_country_of_origin_labels.php
1 comment:
Canadian and Mexican hogs were subject to labelling due to a “country of origin” regulation in 2008. This caused a sharp drop in the sales of Canadian hogs because it raised costs and discouraged Canadian imports. Under the legislation, foreign cattle and pigs were segregated in U.S. feedlots and packaging plants, prompting some businesses to only purchase American livestock. They also had to have documentation and be tagged to be mad-cow disease free. The cost of labelling for Canada, whose biggest foreign market for cattle and hogs is the U.S., was a 23 percent lost in cattle exports and a 36 per cent lost in hog exports from 2007 to 2009. This was a protectionist movement by the U.S. who was only looking out for American benefit. Once again, the U.S. proved to be an unstable market for the export of Canadian products. Fortunately, after 3 years of lost business, the WTO has ruled against the country of origin labels. This will drive down prices and give Canadian meat a more competitive edge in U.S. markets. It is extremely important for Canada to diversify trade so that this kind of issue would have less of an impact on them.
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