March 4, 2014. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is expected to weigh in on the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) dispute between the United States, Canada, and Mexico sometime this summer, with a confidential interim report to be issued around June 20, 2014 and a final report issued approximately a month later. The governments involved in the COOL dispute recently presented arguments to a WTO panel regarding their positions.
The origins of this dispute trace back to 2008 when Canada and Mexico challenged a USDA rule outlining country or origin labeling requirements related to the livestock industry. Canada and Mexico’s position has been that the USDA rule is discriminatory against their respective livestock industries.
The initial dispute brought by Canada and Mexico was validated by a WTO Appellate body. This WTO Appellate body found the USDA rule regarding COOL regulations violated trade agreements because it gave less favorable treatment to Canadian cattle and hogs. Subsequent to this decision USDA modified its COOL requirements, with the revised final rule taking effect on May 23, 2013. Canada and Mexico continue to contend that the revised rule negatively impacts their respective livestock industries in violation of various trade agreements. The revised and adopted final rule requires labels on certain cuts of meat, to provide information on where it was born, raised, and slaughtered.
In addition to the ongoing dispute between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico regarding COOL requirements, there is also ongoing litigation in the U.S. Federal Courts, brought by various meat industry groups, to overturn the current USDA COOL regulations. Continue to monitor the Goosmann Law Firm Ag Law Blog for updates regarding the disputes over USDA’s COOL requirements.
For more information regarding the Country of Origin Labeling dispute or Ag Law, contact the Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712-226-4000.