The Canadian Meat Council and the Meat Institute have jointly submitted a comprehensive set of recommendations to the Canada-US Regulatory Cooperation Council to bolster regulatory cooperation and alignment between Canada and the United States. In a joint letter to Canadian government officials, CMC and the Meat Institute aim to address regulatory divergences, redundancies and inefficiencies that hinder the integrated North American meat and poultry market.

CMC and the Meat Institute have put forward several regulatory reform recommendations to streamline and facilitate trade within the North American market, including to establish joint food safety risk assessments and promote mutual recognition of food safety technologies approvals. The recommendations also include several CUSMA pilot project proposals to institute pre-screening and streamline sampling across borders.

“Together, our industries produce some of the highest-quality, safest, and most nutritionally dense products in the world, playing key roles in advancing food and economic security at all levels. By streamlining regulatory and customs procedures, eliminating non-science-based trade barriers, and enhancing collaboration on global issues such as technology, sustainability, and foreign animal disease, the Canadian and U.S. governments can promote greater resilience, cooperation, and growth within the North American meat industry," said Chris White, president and CEO, Canadian Meat Council

CMC and the Meat Institute urge the RCC to address several trade priorities and impediments that continue to affect the meat industry, such as facilitating U.S. live hog exports to Canada, converging food safety technology approval processes, and eliminating restrictions on veal imports from the U.S.

The organizations highlight the importance of the Canadian and U.S. governments, in coordination with their respective meat industries, committing a renewed focus on regional cooperation to mitigate risks and ensure trade continuity. The meat industries in the US and Canada share a high level of integration and alignment. Both groups have expressed concerns about the voluntary Product of USA label final rule with which establishments must comply by January 1, 2026.

“CMC and the Meat Institute recognize ongoing industry and governmental collaboration is critical to preserving market integration, is vital to the future growth of our respective industries and is integral to the communities and workers we support. Onerous, duplicative regulations and processes, however, serve only to hinder the significant progress North American meat and poultry packers and processors have made to bolster supply chain efficiencies, to ameliorate food and worker safety, to combat environmental degradation and embrace sustainable development, and to feed growing North American and global populations through innovative advancements that produce more food using fewer resources," said -Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO, Meat Institute.

"The RCC offers an important opportunity for our governments to engage in more frequent, formal exchanges to complement ongoing industry coordination. Through the RCC, many of the regulatory and legal barriers that undermine our industries’ interdependence and jeopardize the livelihoods of the workers and communities we support can be discussed, debated, and resolved in a manner that upholds our governments’ commitment to advancing science- and risk-based trade without sacrificing food safety and public health.”