Agricultural News
207 Groups Oppose Congress Altering COOL
Wed, 03 Dec 2014 14:58:23 CST
The United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA), National Farmers Union, and 205 other agricultural and rural-based organizations submitted a letter on December 2 to U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Richard Shelby, chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, asking committee leaders to reject any effort to repeal or weaken the U.S. country of origin labeling (COOL) law in federal spending legislation.
The following statement may be attributed to USCA President Danni Beer:
"As Congress begins crafting a spending bill to fund the government for the remainder of FY2015, any effort to modify or repeal COOL as part of such legislation must be opposed. COOL is broadly supported by American consumers and producers. We remain committed to ensuring that the U.S. is able to have a full review of the compliance of its current regulations at the WTO before there is any consideration of what other actions may be appropriate."
"The effort to weaken or repeal COOL is being led by a group of multi-national organizations who do not accurately reflect the American public's view of COOL. Today's consumer wants to know more about their food, not less, and the efforts of these groups is in direct conflict with the interests of consumers as well as many cattle producers."
"The recent decision by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to appeal the WTO ruling on COOL means that whether U.S. current regulations and the statute comply with WTO obligations will now be reviewed by the WTO Appellate Body. USCA continues to believe that the actions of the Administration in modifying the regulation in 2013 reasonably address the concerns that the Appellate Body identified previously. There is no need for a consideration of other options before the US has pursued this current appeal. Because of the importance of the current law and regulations to our members, USCA will remain engaged to ensure that the U.S. COOL law is preserved."
Click here to read a copy of the letter.
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