COOL Retaliation Imminent

Next week the World Trade Organization will rule on the amount of COOL retaliation for Canada and Mexico. National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall says

Woodall: "This announcement is going to come out next Monday, December the 7th and unfortunately we expect it will be very close to what Canada and Mexico has asked for which is almost $3 billion in retaliatory tariffs to be authorized. At that point in time, it will take them about 10 days to put in all the mechanisms in order to affect these tariffs. We're looking at probably the 16th, 17th, and 18th of December when those will be implemented. So we have a very narrow window of opportunity here to try and get Congress to act and try and appeal COOL."

Since the recent change in the Canadian government, some wondered if these retaliatory tariffs would still be pursued, Woodall says

Woodall: "There was a lot of question of the whether the new government in Canada would have the same position on COOL retaliation as the previous conservative government did. It is obvious from everything we've seen from the Prime Minister, their trade minister and ag minister, that they are going to be as forceful — if not even more forceful than the previous government was. So all indications are they will implement retaliations immediately. It will be on a whole host of products including a 100 percent tariff on beef is what we are expecting now. So that will happen and they will not delay their reaction."