It’s tough being a small fish in a big pond. In this case, Canada’s beef industry is that minnow in the giant ocean that is the U.S. beef industry. Or perhaps that’s not fair — it would seem the big hiccup with the entire mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) fiasco is that, according to politicians and regulators at least, it’s a dead issue, not that Canada doesn’t matter. As John Masswohl, director of government and international relations for the Canadian Cattleman’s Association, explains in this SoundCloud interview, the public wanted labeling, the policy makers delivered, the story ends there.
But as any Canadian (and Mexican) involved in the beef and pork industry can attest — nothing could be further from the truth. mCOOL has cost the beef industry millions and several years in and one successful WTO challenge later, the U.S. policy makers don’t seem to care about little ol’ Canada. Ironically US organizations like NCBA and AMI support Canada and Mexico’s fight to have voluntary COOL instead of mandatory but the U.S. government is listening to other influencers.
In this interview, Shaun Haney asks Masswohl where the proposed trade retaliation against the U.S. sits and what more can be done to remedy this heavy burden on the Canadian cattle industry.
If you cannot see the above player, click here to listen to this interview.
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