REGINA – Saskatchewan government ministers are extremely disappointed that the United States has not fixed Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) in its farm bill.
Pointing to statistics that show meat exports to America have dropped by half, Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart and Trade Minister Tim McMillan both reaffirmed that Saskatchewan supports the federal government’s proposed retaliatory measures against the U.S.
“We have historically shared a strong agricultural partnership with the U.S., they remain our biggest trading partner, and we are dependent on one another for the shared success of our agriculture industries,” Stewart said.
“However, COOL legislation is simply a protectionist measure that has cost our producers billions of dollars and will continue to cause significant hardship to our industry. We will continue to do all we can to stand up for our producers and we encourage the federal government to move forward with retaliation.”
“We are very disappointed the U.S. federal government has refused to change their protectionist position on COOL, which is clearly a violation of their trade obligations,” McMillan said. “We fully support the federal government in pursuing retaliatory measures in an effort to achieve a fair resolution.”
It is estimated that COOL has cost the Canadian cattle industry $1 billion a year since 2008.
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