Harper govt getting into spitty trade fight with U.S.

[Con®conž]

And it's over meat labeling this time. Guess which province would feel
the greatest losses?

How's that 'free trade agreement' stuff going for ya, Harper?
___________________________________________
Fri May 17, 2013 - Reuters


Canada prepares to target U.S. goods in meat-label spat


WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada will put forward a list of U.S.
products it wants to target in retaliation for U.S. country-of-origin
meat labels if last-minute changes to U.S. label regulations don't prove
satisfactory, Canadian officials said on Friday.

The dispute stems from a 2009 U.S. requirement that retail outlets put
the country of origin on labels on meat and other products in an effort
to give U.S. consumers more information about their food.

Canada and Mexico complained that the rule caused a decline in U.S.
imports of their cattle and pigs, and the World Trade Organization has
ordered the United States to make changes by May 23.


"We will be putting forward a list of retaliatory products to make sure
that the Americans have a further understanding of what that will be,"
Ritz said at an unrelated news conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
"The process requires that it goes back to the WTO for a ruling on
whether or not their changes are acceptable. Should they not be, then
those retaliatory measures are assessed and put into play, and that
process can take some months if not a year."


A spokesman for the minister, Jeffrey English, said later that Canada
will not submit any list to the WTO until it sees what changes the U.S.
government proposes. He said Canada still hopes the U.S. will comply
with the WTO by May 23, but is planning its next steps in case it does not.

Ritz did not say what products Canada will seek to target, but last
month he said he expects to go beyond targeting only U.S. beef and pork.

Carol Guthrie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative, said the
United States intends to comply by May 23, and therefore no retaliation
should be authorized.

Canada is also aiming to build consumer confidence about the food it
produces after a major recall of tainted beef last year from an Alberta
packing plant. Ritz announced a plan on Friday that he said would result
in better food inspection in Canada, including improved controls on
E.coli bacteria in beef plants. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
________________________________________________________

WHAT ARE THOSE "IMPROVED CONTROLS"?

Why, they're label instructions to the CONSUMERS to cook their E.coli
contaminated meat [from Alberta, in particular] with higher temperatures
and to medium & well doneness. Goodbye steak tartar.
__________________

REGINA — The Canadian Press - Friday, May. 17 2013

Agriculture minister says Canada will toughen testing, food safety-rules
for meat plants

Meat packers will also have to provide production and distribution
information on demand and in a standardized format. Ritz says that will
help speed up the food agency’s ability to trace products during
investigations and recalls.

“Certainly no one wants a repeat of any of the major recalls we’ve had
in this country,” said Ritz.

“Can we guarantee there’ll never be anymore? No. Anybody that tells you
you can is lying to you. It wouldn’t matter how much money, how many
people you have on the lines, there’s too many moving parts to guarantee
an absolute.

There will also be new labelling requirements.

Plants that produce mechanically tenderized beef cuts, such as steaks or
roasts, will have to label them as such and include cooking instructions
so people know they must cook the meat beyond rare in the middle.

[Canuck57]

On 18/05/2013 4:32 PM, Con�con� wrote:
> And it's over meat labeling this time. Guess which province would feel
> the greatest losses?

Long overdue but I fear it isn't enough.

Fact is dog and cat food have better labels than red meat in Canada. XL
Foods loves CFIA as they are easy to bribe and corrupt. After all,
union CFIA didn't inspect meat, the USDA caught the e.coli last year.
CFIA is just another useless government agency of union lard and
management corruption.

Heck, I would even go further, make the border open for free trade no
tariffs beef. USDA is more effective than CFIA so USDA inspection is
superior.

No reason a price fixed Alberta cow staring across the border to a
Montana cow is priced any different other than corruption and price fixing.


--
Liberal-socialism is a great idea so long as the credit is good and
other people pay for it. When the credit runs out and those that pay
for it leave, they can all share having nothing but debt and discontentment.