Canada’s list of retaliatory tariffs target meat, live animals, produce and more
Canada announced plans to impose tariffs on a list of U.S. products in retaliation for the COOL (country-of-origin labeling) requirement for meat products. Those products would include U.S. beef, pork, live hogs and cattle, cherries, corn, apples, office furniture, mattresses and more.
Canada will ask the World Trade Organization to approve its retaliatory measures in a process that will take 18 to 24 months, Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Ed Fast said on Friday, reports Reuters.
Ritz said Mexico would also seek retaliation against the United States, although its list of products may not match the Canadian list. The two countries have worked closely together on addressing concerns about U.S. meat labeling rules. Mexico's ministries of economy and agriculture did not immediately provide comment.
Canada and Mexico complained to the WTO that the COOL (country-of-origin labeling) rules discriminated against imported livestock. The trade body ordered the United States to comply with WTO rules by May 23, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture made revisions that Canada and Mexico say would only make the situation worse.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative disagrees.
"As we have said from the outset, USDA's new final rule brings the United States into (WTO) compliance, and therefore no retaliation should be authorized," she said.
Source: Reuters
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