Mountain View County Reeve Bruce Beattie calls the repeal of the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements by the United States great news for beef and pork producers in the region.
“It is good to see since the U.S. is by far our major customer for our beef producers,” said Beattie.
“For the cattle side it has been a long, long battle that has cost our beef producers, and I emphasis that it is our producers who pay for this defence at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“It's nice to see the WTO respected for a change and it hasn't always been that way.”
Alberta Beef Producers, Canadian Beef Producers and other industry groups lead the fight against COOL over the past eight years.
Under the COOL regulations, animals born or slaughtered outside the U.S. had to have special labels identifying the county of origin. The measures added significant cost to Canada producers' products.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) had ruled several times that the measures were unfair to Canada and Mexico. The U.S. Congress repealed the measures last week.
Deron Bilous, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, said ending COOL can only be helpful to the agriculture industry, which is the province's second largest economic driver.
“This is good news for Alberta's beef and pork producers,” said Bilous. “The province and the industry have been working hard to put an end to COOL.
“Alberta's agriculture products are the province's second largest export sector, and the United States is our most important trading partner. With COOL eliminated, livestock producers, workers and businesses will no longer be saddled with unnecessary costs and have more opportunities to strengthen agriculture trade between our two countries.”
Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, said, “COOL has cost producers billions of dollars and has been a major irritant in the relationship with our largest and best trading partner. The return to fair and mutually beneficial trade is good for producers on both sides of the border.”
Beef and pork production are among the most important industries in Mountain View and Red Deer counties.
