Canada holds off retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products

The Canadian government this week said it will not apply WTO-authorized retaliatory tariffs in response to the U.S. Congress’s repeal of country origin labeling requirements.

   The Canadian government this week said it will hold off on applying World Trade Organization-authorized retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods imported into the country in response to the U.S. Congress’s repeal of country origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef and pork.
   “We remain pleased that the United States has repealed COOL for beef and pork and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has promised to make amendments to the relevant regulations as quickly as possible to reflect the legislative repeal,” said Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of international trade, and Lawrence MacAulay, minister of agriculture and agri-food, in a statement. 
   The imposition of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs was set to start Dec. 21.
   Congress approved the repeal of the COOL requirement for beef and pork on Friday as part of an omnibus bill. 
   “Effective immediately, USDA is not enforcing the COOL requirements for muscle cut and ground beef and pork outlined in the January 2009 and May 2013 final rules,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the time.
   Canada had warned that it’s prepared to impose import tariffs of up to $1.054 billion on numerous U.S. goods due to the United States’ failure to reform its COOL policy. Mexico has estimated its proposed retaliatory actions to be valued at $653 million.
   In May, the WTO ruled for the fourth, and final, time that the United States’ mandatory COOL law violates international trade agreements. As a result of the WTO’s ruling, Canada and Mexico have the ability to impose retaliatory sanctions and tariffs if the U.S. fails to address its current COOL law.
   “Canada will monitor implementation of the repeal to ensure discrimination against Canadian cattle and hog exports is removed expeditiously in the U.S. market. It is our hope that no retaliatory action will be needed in future,” the Canada’s Ministry of Agriculture said.