US House Repeals COOL Law for Meat From Canada & Mexico

11 Jun 2015 --- In the US House Republicans have voted to repeal a law that ensures country of origin labelling (COOL) on all meat consumed in the US. The move comes after the World Trade Organisation ruled against the law, stating it was discriminatory against neighboring countries Mexico and Canada.

Those who oppose COOL in the US say that meat imported from Canada and Mexico is subject to strict supply chain checks, which meat suppliers are opposed to. This means that Canadian and Mexican imported meat sells for less than its US equivalent.

Canada and Mexico have both threatened trade restrictions if COOL was not lifted. However, it is reported that they will still as the WTO for permission to impose billions of dollars in tariffs on US goods.

In the ongoing dispute, the US Obama administration has tried on several occasions to revise labels in order to appease both countries. The current labels tell consumers what countries the meat is from: for example, "born in Canada, raised and slaughtered in the United States" or "born, raised and slaughtered in the United States." This causes meat packers to segregate US meat from other imports.

Other imported products, such as lamb, veal, nuts, fruit and vegetables are not subject to the repeal and will continue to have COOL.

In response to the news, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) issued the following statement from Denzel McGuire, GMA’s Executive Vice President for Government Affairs: “We applaud the House for passing this critically important legislation that will make the US COOL rules for muscle cuts of beef and pork compliant with the World Trade Organization (WTO) requirements. We especially want to commend the bipartisan leadership of the bill’s sponsors, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA). Without these changes to U.S. COOL rules, U.S. food and agricultural sectors could face financial losses in the billions when Mexico and Canada impose WTO authorized retaliatory tariffs as early as this summer.

“The financial impact of these tariffs will be felt even before they are implemented because the targets of these retaliatory tariffs will begin to experience a substantial drop in export sales almost immediately due to supply chain disruptions. A wide array of product categories will be impacted by these tariffs.

“We strongly urge the Senate to pass this bill as soon as possible.”

Opponents of the ruling say that consumers have a right to know where their food comes from and trade negotiations should not come before consumer rights.

A similar COOL ruling has recent been imposed in Europe to enable consumer to be clear about where their meat comes from and to create a transparency that hopes to avoid the kind of meat scandal caused in 2013 when horsemeat was found in several ready meals.