U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) responded on Monday to an official World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on retaliation tariffs that Mexico and Canada may seek against the U.S. for mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL). In the face of Canadian tariffs and the WTO ruling, that may soon change.
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Canada and Mexico are two of the largest US export markets. It ruled Monday that Canada could impose $780 million in retaliatory tariffs and Mexico could impose $228 million.
“The WTO has repeatedly found that this mandatory COOL law fails to comply with our free trade agreements, and now Mexico and Canada have been given the go-ahead to take over $1 billion in retaliatory action against the United States”.
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Canada could put tariffs on various products, including food such as ketchup and beef. At that time, there was an urgency expressed by lawmakers to repeal the COOL law, which has been in effect since 2009. In its decision in May, the WTO said the USA was putting “a disproportionate burden on producers and processors of livestock that can not be explained by the need to provide origin information to consumers”. Together, they import more than $2 billion in US dairy products annually. Many congressmen said the law was a “failed experiment”, and most congressmen were afraid of a protracted trade war developing. “The House voted in an overwhelming bi-partisan vote of 300-131 to repeal COOL and it is time for the Senate to do the same before retaliation damages the entire US economy and irreparably harms our strongest trading relationships”. “As the Canadian and Mexican governments prepare to impose these tariffs we are reminded of the sage prophet, Pogo, who said, ‘We have met the enemy and he is us'”.
