This past weekend I was in Kansas City, Missouri as part of the Council of State Governments national conference. There were elected representatives from each of the States at the conference as well as several representatives from Canada.
Of particular interest to Manitoba was a resolution that called for the U.S. Congress to ensure there is an integrated livestock industry between Canada and the U.S. without the regulations and requirements found in the U.S. mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law. The COOL regulations have already been found by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a trade violation because they essentially discriminate against imported livestock.
Yet, the U.S. has been unwilling to follow the intention of the WTO ruling resulting in the possibility of counter trade tariffs by Canada. Ultimately, that is a situation that benefits neither of our countries. Canada exports significant numbers of hogs and cattle to the U.S. and in turn many U.S. packing and feed operations rely on this supply of livestock.
In speaking to a number of U.S. representatives in Kansas City I was pleased that there was a general understanding that issues like COOL only thicken our border to trade and hurt each of our countries. There is a good understanding that we each benefit from a strong trading relationship with defined rules and appeal mechanisms for that trade.
The resolution regarding COOL was strongly supported at the conference and passed. That is a strong signal that there is support not just in Canada but also in the U.S. for an outcome to this issue that ensures our integrated livestock industry is able to thrive. The resolution will be sent to the U.S. secretary of agriculture and other elected representatives. I hope it sends a strong message that this is an issue that needs to be resolved quickly.
