Canada-Dispute over meat labelling.

CANADA-AMERICAN MEAT LABELLING.

Canada is filing a formal complaint to the World Trade Organization about a U.S. country-of-origin meat-labelling law that International Trade Minister Stockwell Day says is devastating the Canadian livestock industry.

During a meeting Monday in Washington, Day informed Ron Kirk, the top U.S. trade representative, about Canada’s WTO challenge to the law, which essentially requires Canadian meat and other products to be labelled as such.

’’It says we think this is offside,’’ Day said of the notice to be filed in Geneva in the coming days. ’’I gave (Kirk) a head’s up ... that we’re moving ahead with it.’’

Cattle and livestock associations have been complaining bitterly about the so-called COOL law since it took effect in mid-March. Canada sells most of its meat to the U.S.

They estimate the legislation has cost the cattle industry $400 million, while live hog exports to the U.S. have dropped by 40 per cent due to the stringent regulations. The law has also created a glut of meat on store shelves in Canada, meaning lower prices for producers.

The industry has been pushing Ottawa to revive the WTO challenge for weeks, complaining that the labelling law amounts to a non-tariff trade barrier.

Initially, the law allowed meatpackers to identify their product as coming from North America. But U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack later asked the U.S. meat industry to go beyond those rules and identify products from Canada or Mexico.

The legislation requires country-of-origin labelling on beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat meat, wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng and macadamia nuts.

It was formulated, congressional leaders have said, to meet the demands of U.S. consumers who want to know where their food comes from, for reasons that include a desire to reduce their carbon footprint and to ’’buy American.’’

The ’’Buy American’’ provision in the economic stimulus package, in fact, was another topic of conversation between Day and Kirk on Monday.

Day said there is growing evidence that Canadian manufacturers are getting cut out of consideration when bidding for U.S. contracts.

’’The ’Buy America’ provision has the support of President Obama clearly in terms of the over-riding amendment which says that ’Buy America’ has to ... live up to U.S. trade obligations, and international obligations, and we appreciate that,’’ Day said.

’’(However), it appears to be that there are those that are finding ways of imposing, putting pressure on the municipalities and the states to only ’Buy America,’ and not necessarily to allow for Canadian bids on services and products. This is raising concern.’’

Day said Canadian companies bidding on sewage and water treatment projects in the U.S. have complained about the situation, but didn’t provide further details.

’’We have some solutions we believe would assist in mitigating this ... we want to basically roll back any attempt or any provision which would exclude Canada from being able to enter into projects in the United States.’’

In Canada, Day said, American companies can bid on contracts at the provincial and municipal level.

’’We want to make sure that’s maintained for Canadian companies bidding into the United States.’’