Progress on U.S.-Canada Alignment Includes Motor Vehicles, Meat Cuts, Says Bilateral Council
The U.S. --Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) provided an update on its actions related to harmonizing regulations in the U.S. and Canada during the first part of 2014. Highlights include a new bill in the Canadian parliament that harmonizes classification and labeling requirements for workplace hazardous chemicals, as well as an agreement between the U.S. and Canada to harmonize terminology for whole cuts of meat.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Economic Action Plan Introduced in Canadian Parliament
The Stephen Harper administration in late March proposed the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, which includes provisions related to regulatory harmonization with the United States. It proposes to amend Canada’s Motor Vehicle Safety Act to align Canadian and U.S. regulations, as well as change classification and labeling requirements for workplace hazardous chemicals to align it with international standards.
Motor vehicle import amendments. The bill would make several changes to Motor Vehicle Safety Act import provisions (here), as follows:
- Allowing a vehicle to be donated instead of destroying or exporting it
- Allowing different requirements for vehicles from the U.S. and Mexico if there are minor safety variations from Canadian rules
- Providing for the importation of vehicles intended to be disassembled for parts
- Removing the need for a vehicle transiting through Canada to be accompanied by a person
Workplace hazardous chemicals. The bill would also amend the Hazardous Products Act to implement the Global Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals currently being implemented by the U.S. and European Union.
Harmonized Terminology for Meat Cuts
The U.S. and Canada agreed in February to harmonize the terminology used for wholesale cuts of meat, said the report. As of Feb. 24, 2014, selected meat cut names including chicken breast fillets, beef hip and lamb leg and chops can be used interchangeably with their U.S. equivalent (chicken tenderloin, beef round primal, and center cut steaks, respectively), it said. A full list of interchangeable meat cut names is available (here).