White House Urged to Appeal WTO Ruling on COOL Regulations

Several consumer organizations have called on President Barack Obama (D)
to appeal a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that favored Canada and
Mexico in a dispute over U.S. country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) requirements
for beef and pork products. In their February 24, 2012, letter, Consumers
Union, Food & Water Watch, Public Citizen, and the Consumer Federation of
America contend that the WTO panel issued a “conflicted ruling” by affirming
this country’s right to require COOL for meat products, but finding that
specific requirements were less favorable to Canada and Mexico. Details
about the WTO ruling appear in Issue 419 of this Update. According to the
letter, COOL “is wildly popular in the U.S., as poll after poll show overwhelming
support for labeling. Indeed, nations around the world are implementing
variants of such laws.”