Agricultural News
U.S. Trade Representative Decides to Appeal WTO's Ruling Against Country-of-Origin Labeling
Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:16:47 CDT
United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the U.S. will appeal a World Trade Organization ruling against a law requiring country-of-origin labels on meat sold in grocery stores in America. Both Mexico and Canada have long opposed.
Country-of-origin labeling, or COOL, went into effect in 2009. U.S. consumer groups and some farm groups favored the law saying it would allow consumers to make an informed choice. Big meat packers said the law would hinder trade and boost costs unnecessarily.
Canada and Mexico filed suit with the World Trade Organization calling COOL a technical barrier to trade. Both countries have a sizeable beef and cattle trade with the U.S. In their complaint, the two countries said their exports to America dropped sharply after the law was implemented.
In November, the WTO ruled against the United States.
The United States' decision to appeal the ruling disappointed Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.
"The WTO panel decision recognized the integrated nature of the North American supply chain and marked a clear win for our industry," he said in a statement. "We are confident that the decision will be upheld so trade can move more freely, benefiting producers and processors on both sides of the border."
The U.S. consumer group Food and Water Watch and the National Farmers Union applauded the trade representative's decision to appeal.
"We are heartened that the Obama administration has finally stood up against the meat industry's attack on common-sense rules that let people get vital information about what they are eating," Wenonah Hauter of Food and Water Watch said in a statement.
National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson agreed.
In a statement, Johnson said, "U.S. family farmers and ranchers work each day to provide a safe, abundant food supply to our country and the world," said Johnson. "Not only are we proud of what we do, but consumers have made it clear they want to know where their food comes from. We should not deny them that right."
The COOL law requires grocery stores to identify the origin of cuts of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, ground meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, ginseng, peanuts, pecans and macadamia nuts.
You can read the full statement from the National Farmers Union by clicking here.
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