19 Senators Ask USDA, USTR to Appeal WTO Cool Labeling Decision
Senator Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 18 other Senators sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Kirk asking the Administration to appeal a World Trade Organization panel decision which they say validates U.S. authority to have Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) for meat products, but strikes down the COOL regulations which implement the law.
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In their letter, the Senators requested that the USDA and USTR take appropriate actions to appeal the DSP’s ruling and work to ensure that U.S. COOL program both meets U.S. international trade obligations while continuing to provide country of origin information to consumers.
(See ITT’s Online Archives 11112114, 11111837, and 11060339 for summaries of WTO’s panel ruling that U.S. COOL is barrier to Canada/Mexico meat.)