House Repeals COOL with Bipartisan Support, No Action Yet in Senate
The House voted to pass country-of-origin labeling repeal legislation in a show of bipartisan support late on June 10. The 300-131 vote now sends the repeal bill, HR-2393 (here), to the Senate. No repeal bill has so far surfaced in that chamber, nor has the Senate Agriculture Committee announced a hearing on the issue.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, praised the House vote, but said he is still taking "suggestions" on "alternatives" to repeal. "However, almost a month has passed since the WTO ruling was announced, and repeal remains the surest way to protect the American economy from retaliatory tariffs," said Roberts in a release (here). “We can sit here and let this happen. Or we can move. Let’s get a move on.”
Industry groups and business associations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Trade Council and the National Association of Manufacturers, applauded the House vote, but pressed the Senate to act quickly to avert retaliation over COOL. Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz also urged the Senate to move on COOL. "The only way for the United States to avoid billions in retaliation by late summer is to ensure legislation repealing COOL passes the Senate and is signed by the president," said Ritz in a June 10 statement.
The World Trade Organization shot down the final U.S. appeal in the dispute, and Canada and Mexico are aiming to implement retaliatory tariffs within months (see 506080070). Both retaliation lists span a wide range of agriculture and other products. After a recent interview with Ritz (here), Reuters reported that Canada will likely “target beef, pork, California wines, mattresses, cherries and office furniture, possibly along with other goods.”