Us Canada Equivalency Agreement
Organic products that are considered equivalent under the agreement may be interchangeable, or the two organic labels, which are available from certifiers. It should be noted that products sold in a given market must meet domestic labelling requirements (for example. B language requirements, clear nutritional labelling and different product qualities), including those covered by environmental legislation. Keep in mind that Canada and the United States have slightly different approaches to organic labelling, such as. B: Canada does not allow a « 100% organic » claim; the U.S. « Made with » claim for products containing 70-95% organic ingredients is treated in Canada as a percentage claim (products must indicate organic XX ingredients). For the full labelling guidelines, please follow the requirements set out in the following official guides and resources: Everything changed for organic exporters to Canada on June 30, 2009, when Canada`s new Organic Regime (COR) came into effect. In the absence of an agreement, USDA-certified organic foods exported to Canada would have had to be certified for a second certification to meet mandatory Canadian standards and regulations. Similarly, under Canadian guidelines exported to the United States, all certified organic foods would have had to continue to comply with National Organic Program (NOP) guidelines before being sold in the U.S. market.
This dual certification would have been an unnecessary burden on manufacturers and manufacturers and would have created serious barriers to trade between the two countries. In order to enable the organic industry to develop beyond national markets, organic equivalency agreements are an instrument capable of facilitating trade with as few barriers as possible, while preserving the integrity of organic foods and respecting the public standards of each internal market. This historic agreement between the USDA and CFIA provides a new model for the continued expansion of North American organic products in key European and Asian markets and the sustained growth of the Global Organic Movement. In some cases, an organic import may originate from a country other than the United States or Canada. USCOEA is the only equivalency regime in Canada that covers imports from third countries. This means that when a product is imported from a third country that does not have an equivalency regime (such as India), the only way to sell that product as an organic product in Canada, if the product is certified by the Canada Organic Regime (COR) or the National National Organic Program (NOP). The table below presents the different biobiological import scenarios under this agreement. As part of organic equivalency, OTA members may ask questions on the following: under organic equivalence, producers certified in accordance with the National Organic Program rules by a USDA-accredited certification body are not required to certify Canadian organic standards twice to meet Canadian labeling requirements when exporting to the Canadian market. Similarly, Canadian manufacturers certified in accordance with Canadian organic standards by a CFIA-accredited certification body are considered NOP equivalent to meet U.S. market labelling requirements when sold in the United States.
For more information on the equivalency agreement and labelling requirements, visit the Canadian government`s summary page. The internal market will develop on the basis of an facilitated supply and demand chain and a reduction in inefficiencies and regulatory redundancies that will benefit producers, producers, consumers and retailers. Although equivalence opens up the domestic market to imports, a competitive advantage over imported products is maintained by increased purchasing decisions for « products » and « locals ». Most organic products are considered equivalent under the USCOEA. However, since environmental standards differ from country to country, there are significant
