Trade Groups Pressure Congress to Allow Suspension of COOL Regs
Congress should enact legislation that provides Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack the authority to “suspend indefinitely” country of origin labeling (COOL) regulations for muscle cuts of meat after final World Trade Organization (WTO) adjudication in the ongoing dispute with Canada and Mexico, said more than 60 agriculture, manufacturing and other organizations in a June 26 letter to House and Senate agriculture committee leaders. If the WTO sides with Canada and Mexico, the body would award the two countries the right to retaliate against U.S. products.
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Tariff retaliation would cause significant harm to the U.S. economy, said the organizations, such as the North American Meat Association and the National Association of Manufacturers. Canada posted in 2013 a list of 38 U.S. agriculture, metal and furniture products that it threatened to target with retaliatory duties in the event of a WTO ruling in its favor (see 13061022). Mexico has not yet released a similar list, said the organizations in the letter. "It would be intolerable for the United States to maintain, even briefly, a rule that has been deemed non-compliant by the WTO,” said the letter. The 2014 Farm Bill, enacted by Congress in January, authorized the COOL regulations to stay in effect (see 14012930).