U.S. Government Appeals WTO Ruling on COOL Rules

The United States has appealed the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) ruling
in favor of Canada and Mexico in a dispute over U.S. country-of-origin labeling
(COOL) regulations requiring pork and beef products originating outside the
United States to carry labels specifying their sources.

The appeal notification circulated to WTO members indicated that the
United States has challenged several of the panel’s findings, including
that the detrimental impact does not stem exclusively from legitimate
regulatory distinctions because “the amended COOL measure entails an
increased recordkeeping burden and increased segregation,” “the current
labels provided by the amended COOL measure have a potential for label
inaccuracy,” and “the amended COOL measure continues to exempt a
large proportion of muscle cuts.” Appeals are heard by three members of a
permanent seven-member appellate body unaffiliated with any government,
and the appellate body generally has three months to conclude its report.
Additional information on the WTO panel’s ruling appears in Issue 542 of this
Update.

Issue 547