Canada's New Beef Import Levy

Last week it was announced that there is a new levy of a $1 per head of cattle for beef marketed in Canada which will now apply to importers. The monies will provide new investments in research and market development for Canada’s beef industry. Their news release touts that the new levy will collect approximately $800,000 annually from importers.

Washington Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President Jack Field shares that this might have something to do with the USDA’s final rule on Country of Origin Labeling.

Field: “I would be surprised if some of this had not been precipitated by some of the other things that are happening in the industry right now with COOL and other trade responses. Because we’ve heard the Canadian Government s talk about the possibility of trade retribution or retaliatory tariffs to respond so this maybe is the first volley.”

The WCA President Vic Stokes says he will be watching what happens as there is a lot of Canadian cattle shipped south across the border to be processed in U.S. processing plants and will they be considered U.S. beef coming BACK across the border as carcasses?

Stokes: “It is going to be interesting because so much of their major population centers depend on beef coming out of the U.S. back on the East Coast to supply their needs. Are they going to consider it strictly U.S. product when it comes back across the border to them. This is going to be an interesting test on some of these issues.”