The new Canadian Minister of Agriculture, Lawrence MacAulay, says that the Trudeau administration is ready to proceed with retaliation once the World Trade Organization releases its report on the level of retaliation regarding country-of-origin labeling.
MacAulay is quoted in press stories saying, “You cannot have a deal with foreign countries and not have them comply with the rules and then just continue on. You have to take measures. Do we want to? No. But if we have to, I suspect we will.”
The WTO ruled earlier the United States did not live up to its trade obligations and had discriminated against Canada and Mexico meat. The WTO panel will release its report on Dec. 7, and Canada and Mexico will have the right to begin imposing tariffs on Dec. 18. Canada has released its list of possible U.S. products, and Mexico is expected to release its list of products in the near future.
