Posted October 31, 2013
Members of the farm bill conference committee are
looking to repeal the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law that Mexico and Canada
have challenged as a violation of world trade rules, according to a Reuters article
available here.
The COOL final rule, available here,
became effective on May 23, 2013 and modified certain provisions of the COOL
regulations after the World Trade Organization (WTO) found that aspects of the
regulations violated U.S. trade obligations.
The final rule requires labels on certain cuts of meat to provide
information on where it was born, raised, and slaughtered.
During the first meeting of the farm bill conferees,
several lawmakers said that COOL should be revised or repealed, in part “because
of the risk of international sanctions.”
House Agriculture Committee chairman Frank Lucas said
in his opening statement, “I am hopeful that working together we can prevent
the imposition of tariffs on a wide array of products important to many states.”
Senator Pat Roberts (R-KN) said that he would “support
a House provision that was under development and expected to be a repeal clause
for COOL.”
Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said COOL
“clearly is one of the issues” for farm bill negotiators.”
While COOL is generally favored by consumer groups, it
has been a point of controversy for more than a decade. Congress approved meat-origin labeling in
2002, but it did not become mandatory until 2009.
For more information on Country of Origin Labeling
(COOL), sign up for an upcoming webinar hosted by the National Agricultural Law
Center here. The National Agricultural Law Center’s
Reading Room on the subject is also available here.
Date: Thursday, November 14, from 12 to 1:30
(CST).
Moderator: Harrison Pittman, Director, National
Agricultural Law Center
Presenters: J.
Dudley Butler, Farm and Ranch Law Group
John Dillard, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman
Matz P.C.
Cost: $75 for attorneys seeking CLE credit, $50 for
others
Registration information is available here.
