US/Canada/Mexico: WTO to Issue COOL Retaliatory Tariffs Decision in November

According to North American Meat Institute, a World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration panel on November 21, 2015, will issue a final decision regarding the amount of annual retaliatory tariffs Canada and Mexico can impose on U.S. imports resulting from country-of-original labeling (COOL) rules.

Canada and Mexico last week defended their proposed tariffs during a public hearing at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Canada is requesting authorization to impose retaliatory measures worth more than $2.5 billion, while Mexico is proposing tariffs totaling more than $713 million. The U.S. contested Canada and Mexico’s calculations, arguing the value of Canada’s proposed retaliatory measures should be cut by more than 98 percent and Mexico’s by 93 percent.