Ottawa, ON=The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) welcomes today's major development where the Omnibus Appropriations Bill has passed in each of the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, by significant margins, and with solid bipartisan support, that includes a provision which should resolve the longstanding issue between Canada and the U.S. over their country-of-origin labelling (COOL) rules. The Bill now proceeds to the White House for the President to sign.
"Challenging the US COOL has been a long and expensive fight for Canadian producers," stated CPC's Chair Rick Bergmann. "We look forward to the President signing the Bill to avoid retaliatory action and closing the book on this dispute."
Country-of-origin labelling in the United States became mandatory for meat and livestock in 2008 and since then, the Canadian government, along with the CPC, and other livestock groups has been fighting to have the American legislation changed. In May, 2015, the World Trade Organization (WTO) determined for the fourth time that U.S. COOL for beef and pork discriminates against Canadian cattle and hogs and violates the WTO obligations of the United States.
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) serves as the national voice for hog producers in Canada. It represents nine provincial pork industry associations and approximately 7,000 hog farms, producing 25.5 million animals a year and generating over $13 billion in economic activity. The 31,000 farm jobs they create contribute to the total direct, indirect and induced $23.8 billion and 103,000 jobs across the country. The organization's purpose is to play a leadership role in achieving and maintaining a dynamic and prosperous Canadian pork sector.
Source: CPC