EDMONTON - Canadian beef and pork producers want Ottawa to more vigorously oppose a U.S. plan to place country of origin labels and tracking rules on their meat products - a move they say would cost them $500 million per year.
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association and the Canadian Pork Council say the U.S. law would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization rules.
They are calling on the federal government to lobby American senators in Washington against the proposal well before next September when it is expected to go into effect.
"We believe very strongly that this violates the United States' trade obligations to Canada," said John Masswohl, a Canadian Cattlemen's Association spokesman in Ottawa.
While the federal government can't technically launch such a challenge until after the U.S. law goes into effect, the time for strong lobbying to head off the proposed plan is now, he said.
"We have asked them to signal very strongly and turn up the volume indicating that the government of Canada believes that this is a violation of those agreements.
"All they have said at this point is that they are examining the issue."
Agriculture Canada Department officials were not available for comment.
Country of origin labelling would force American companies that import Canadian cattle and pigs to slaughter them separately from U.S. animals and slap a sticker on the meat package that says "from Canada and the United States."
Meat from animals born, raised and processed in the United States would be labelled "Product of the U.S.A."
American firms would have to keep special records of the Canadian animals and track where the meat is sold.
Canadian producers fear that American slaughter facilities and supermarkets won't want the hassle or the extra cost and will stop buying Canadian animals or start demanding discounts.
Such a situation that would depress prices for pigs and cattle in both countries.
The beef industry estimates it would lose $300 million per year. Pork producers estimate they would take a $200-million per year hit - bad news for agriculture sectors already hit hard by high feed costs and the soaring Canadian dollar.
The labelling requirement is not tied to food safety and has been championed by American trade protectionist groups such as R-CALF, a ranchers' organization that fought hard to keep Canadian beef out of the U.S. after mad cow disease was discovered in an Alberta cow in 2003.
"There is no evidence that U.S. consumers are concerned about the food safety of product coming from Canada," said Martin Rice, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council.
"Many people in the U.S. industry that support this legislation have acknowledged that there is not any food safety reason for this labelling regulation - it is simply to make it harder for people to purchase products from other than U.S. sources."
It makes more sense for Ottawa to head off the labelling issue before it is brought in than to fight it as a trade dispute issue after the fact in a process that could take years, he said.
"They should be doing it over the next couple of weeks," Rice said from Ottawa. "Our embassy will be needing to make appropriate visits with U.S. senators, U.S. lawmakers."
Having a cabinet minister involved in the lobbying wouldn't hurt, he added.
"This is a disaster. We are in a perfect storm of challenging circumstances for our industry."
The Canadian government has formally opposed the mandatory labelling plan in writing.
In a submission to the U.S. government Canada has said that the proposal will undo 18 years of trade benefits the two countries have enjoyed since NAFTA was first signed.
"The current (labelling) law is clearly discriminatory, costly and backwards," says Canada's submission.
"Mandatory labelling is not in the best interests of the U.S. nor of its closest trading partners."
Some Canadian industry officials say they don't understand why Ottawa isn't doing more to thwart the labelling law and its implications.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is from Alberta where cattle producers are still dealing with the economic fallout from the years the U.S. market was closed to Canadian beef because of mad cow disease.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is from Saskatchewan, a province which is a major hog exporter.
But for some reason, country of origin labelling isn't getting the attention from the federal government that it deserves, Masswohl said.
"They (federal officials) tell us that this is an important issue, they recognize its importance and they have spoken to their counterparts about it," he said.
"We think they need to do more."
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association and the Canadian Pork Council say the U.S. law would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization rules.
They are calling on the federal government to lobby American senators in Washington against the proposal well before next September when it is expected to go into effect.
"We believe very strongly that this violates the United States' trade obligations to Canada," said John Masswohl, a Canadian Cattlemen's Association spokesman in Ottawa.
While the federal government can't technically launch such a challenge until after the U.S. law goes into effect, the time for strong lobbying to head off the proposed plan is now, he said.
"We have asked them to signal very strongly and turn up the volume indicating that the government of Canada believes that this is a violation of those agreements.
"All they have said at this point is that they are examining the issue."
Agriculture Canada Department officials were not available for comment.
Country of origin labelling would force American companies that import Canadian cattle and pigs to slaughter them separately from U.S. animals and slap a sticker on the meat package that says "from Canada and the United States."
Meat from animals born, raised and processed in the United States would be labelled "Product of the U.S.A."
American firms would have to keep special records of the Canadian animals and track where the meat is sold.
Canadian producers fear that American slaughter facilities and supermarkets won't want the hassle or the extra cost and will stop buying Canadian animals or start demanding discounts.
Such a situation that would depress prices for pigs and cattle in both countries.
The beef industry estimates it would lose $300 million per year. Pork producers estimate they would take a $200-million per year hit - bad news for agriculture sectors already hit hard by high feed costs and the soaring Canadian dollar.
The labelling requirement is not tied to food safety and has been championed by American trade protectionist groups such as R-CALF, a ranchers' organization that fought hard to keep Canadian beef out of the U.S. after mad cow disease was discovered in an Alberta cow in 2003.
"There is no evidence that U.S. consumers are concerned about the food safety of product coming from Canada," said Martin Rice, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council.
"Many people in the U.S. industry that support this legislation have acknowledged that there is not any food safety reason for this labelling regulation - it is simply to make it harder for people to purchase products from other than U.S. sources."
It makes more sense for Ottawa to head off the labelling issue before it is brought in than to fight it as a trade dispute issue after the fact in a process that could take years, he said.
"They should be doing it over the next couple of weeks," Rice said from Ottawa. "Our embassy will be needing to make appropriate visits with U.S. senators, U.S. lawmakers."
Having a cabinet minister involved in the lobbying wouldn't hurt, he added.
"This is a disaster. We are in a perfect storm of challenging circumstances for our industry."
The Canadian government has formally opposed the mandatory labelling plan in writing.
In a submission to the U.S. government Canada has said that the proposal will undo 18 years of trade benefits the two countries have enjoyed since NAFTA was first signed.
"The current (labelling) law is clearly discriminatory, costly and backwards," says Canada's submission.
"Mandatory labelling is not in the best interests of the U.S. nor of its closest trading partners."
Some Canadian industry officials say they don't understand why Ottawa isn't doing more to thwart the labelling law and its implications.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is from Alberta where cattle producers are still dealing with the economic fallout from the years the U.S. market was closed to Canadian beef because of mad cow disease.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is from Saskatchewan, a province which is a major hog exporter.
But for some reason, country of origin labelling isn't getting the attention from the federal government that it deserves, Masswohl said.
"They (federal officials) tell us that this is an important issue, they recognize its importance and they have spoken to their counterparts about it," he said.
"We think they need to do more."