Although overall progress has been achieved during the first year of the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Plan, advancement on the poultry and meat export certification effort has not been as rapid as anticipated, according to the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council’s first progress report.
The December 2011 joint action plan was designed to promote economic growth and create jobs through increased regulatory transparency and cooperation. The council’s report noted that this plan “is neither about creating a single regulatory system for both countries, nor for one country to make regulatory decisions on behalf of the other.” Instead, “it targets existing or emerging misalignments and focuses on creating systemic mechanisms to secure regulatory alignment into the future.… in areas where Canada and the United States have similar goals, similar systems, or similar regulatory approaches with respect to traded goods (final goods or intermediate inputs).” In the absence of such alignment, the goal is to encourage adopting other measures that make it easier to conduct business between the two countries.
This report outlined actions taken or being taken under work plans for 29 separate initiatives. Regarding the work on poultry and meat products export certification, the report explained that each country has conducted an independent internal review of its import and export requirements to identify redundancies and further bilateral discussions are planned for early 2013. Also, a framework for information sharing on food safety systems is expected to be presented to senior officials in January 2013.
An arrangement for the mutual recognition of zoning decisions in the event of a highly contagious foreign animal disease outbreak has been developed and signed. This arrangement’s aim is to collectively protect both countries from disease while allowing for continued bilateral trade from areas located outside of the disease control and eradication zone.
