According to the Wall Street Journal, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has decided for Canada and Mexico and against the United States in a battle over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) of meat products. The decision has reportedly been disclosed to the three governments and is expected to be made public in late September or early October, after which the United States has 60 days to appeal. Canada and Mexico argued that the COOL rules harmed them by restricting their competitiveness. In recent months, members of the food industry and of Congress have argued against the COOL requirements. Additional information appears in Issues 529 and 533 of this Update.
Tag Archives WTO
In a letter signed by 110 members of Congress, U.S. Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Rick Crawford (R-Ariz.) have urged Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman to rescind the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico if the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules against the United States in its investigation of U.S. COOL regulations. The letter reportedly suggested that Congress is working on a permanent solution to the issue, and it warned that a WTO ruling against the United States could result in detriment to the U.S. economy. “Congress must be prepared to act and find a solution that maintains a healthy relationship with our trading partners and protects the American economy,” Costa said in a July 31, 2014, statement. The letter echoes a similar argument made by food industry groups in July 2014 correspondence. Additional information on the food…
Several major food companies have sent a letter to four U.S. senators and representatives urging Congress to direct Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to suspend revised country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules on muscle cuts of meat because they discriminate against Canada and Mexico. The letter argues that if the WTO determines that the rule violates U.S. trade obligations, it could authorize retaliation from Mexico and Canada, which “has already issued a preliminary retaliation list targeting a broad spectrum of commodities and manufactured products that will affect every state in the country.” The new rules dictate that meat producers must disclose where their livestock was born, raised and slaughtered and can no longer commingle livestock from differing origins to ensure COOL accuracy. The food company coalition has also challenged the new U.S. Department of Agriculture rules in federal court, and the case is pending after an en banc rehearing in the D.C.…
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling denying the motion for preliminary injunction filed by meat producer interests in litigation challenging U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations requiring retailers of “muscle cuts” of meat to list the countries of origin and production (country-of-origin labeling or COOL) as to each step of production—born, raised or slaughtered. Am. Meat Inst. v. USDA, No. 13-5281 (D.C. Cir., decided March 28, 2014). The regulations at issue were adopted in 2013 in response to a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling finding their predecessor to violate the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. They “increased the required level of precision” to address each production step and also “eliminated the special allowance for commingled meat.” The plaintiffs argued that the amended rules ban commingling and thus alter “production practices over which the COOL statute gives the Secretary no authority,” and that the…
During a recent meeting of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee, several member delegations expressed concerns about Chile’s proposed food health regulation amendments that would, among other things, require certain foods high in fat, sugar or salt to bear “STOP” sign-shaped warnings on 20 percent of the “main surface of the package.” The delegations, including Argentina, Canada, Colombia, the European Union, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and the United States, apparently contended that such requirements were not based on relevant Codex nutrition labeling guidelines, would create unnecessary barriers to international trade and had not been properly brought before the TBT Committee. Chile apparently responded that the proposal was intended to stem the tide of the obesity epidemic and that it was needed to provide readily understandable warnings on food products. In addition to stop sign warnings such as “high in salt,” “high in calories” or their equivalent,…
The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers Association (R-CALF USA) has filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in a Colorado federal court against the World Trade Organization (WTO) and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, alleging that WTO’s determination that the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling Act (COOL) imposes discriminatory burdens on meat imported from Canada and Mexico is contrary to U.S. law and the Uruguay Round Agreements. Made in the USA Foundation, Inc. v. WTO, No. 12-2337 (D. Colo., filed September 1, 2012). Details about WTO’s ruling appear in Issue 419 of this Update. With some 5,400 members in 45 states, R-CALF USA apparently worked with Congress to pass the COOL legislation “that reserves the USA label for only cattle born, raised, and slaughtered in the U.S.A.” The complaint alleges that the plaintiffs will lose income as a result of WTO’s ruling and that its members “are…
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