Canada threatens retaliation against US if COOL law not changed

Canadian leaders have vowed to take retaliatory action against the United States if it does not update its country of origin labeling (COOL) law, which the World Trade Organization (WTO) on October 20 ruled was in violation of U.S. international trade obligations by discriminating against pigs and cattle from Canada and Mexico.
The COOL law requires meat to be labeled with the country where the animal from which it was derived was born, raised and slaughtered.
“Canada will be watching this situation closely to ensure U.S. compliance in accordance with the WTO’s clear ruling. We will continue to fully assert our rights to achieve a fair resolution to our concern, including seeking authorization to implement retaliatory measures on U.S. agricultural and non-agricultural products if and as necessary,” Ed Fast, Canadian minister of international trade, and Gerry Ritz, minister of agriculture and agri-food, said in a joint statement.
Several U.S. meat organizations have stated they agree with the WTO ruling, and are urging lawmakers to fix the rule.
“The United States must avoid retaliation from Canada and Mexico. Retaliatory tariffs on pork would be financially devastating to U.S. pork producers,” said National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Howard Hill. “The United States economy can't afford to have its products restricted, through tariffs, to its No. 1 and 2 export markets. "Congress and the White House need to address this now."
In a joint statement, the North American Meat Association and the American Meat Institute, expressed similar concerns: “USDA’s mandatory COOL rule is not only onerous and burdensome on livestock producers and meat packers and processors, it does not bring the U.S. into compliance with its WTO obligations. By being out of compliance, the U.S. is subject to retaliation from Canada and Mexico that could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars.”

NPPC urges Obama, Congress to fix COOL law

Following the October 20 release of the World Trade Organization (WTO) decision on the U.S. meat labeling law, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) urged the Obama administration and Congress to fix the law to avoid trade retaliation from Canada and Mexico.
As expected, the WTO ruled that the mandatory Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL) statute violates U.S. international trade obligations by discriminating against Canadian cattle and pigs and Mexican cattle. COOL requires meat to be labeled with the country where the animal from which it was derived was born, raised and slaughtered. The decision could allow the two countries to place tariffs on U.S. imports.
“The United States must avoid retaliation from Canada and Mexico,” said NPPC President Howard Hill, a veterinarian and pork producer from Cambridge, Iowa. “Retaliatory tariffs on pork would be financially devastating to U.S. pork producers.”
But, pointed out Hill, tariffs likely would be placed on a host of U.S. products, including non-agricultural ones.
As it did in a 2012 ruling on a previous version of COOL, the WTO requested that the United States bring the “inconsistent measure into conformity with its [international trade] obligations.”
NPPC opposed COOL when it was being debated by Congress as part of the 2002 farm bill, worked for flexibility in the labeling scheme when lawmakers said it would be part of the 2008 farm bill and joined with several other meat organizations in filing a lawsuit against the most recent iteration of the regulation implementing the law.
NPPC supports an approach to labeling that provides important information to consumers, complies with U.S. international trade obligations and does not undermine U.S. meat supply chains and unnecessarily raise costs.
"The United States economy can't afford to have its products restricted, through tariffs, to its No. 1 and 2 export markets," Hill said. "Congress and the White House need to address this now."

WTO rules against country of origin labeling, sources say

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against the United States in its disputes with North American neighbors Canada and Mexico concerning country of origin labeling (COOL), according to reports.
COOL, which went into effect in the U.S. in November 2013, requires that labels of pork, beef and other meat products provide more information about where the meat originated. The USDA issued the current version of COOL after WTO in 2012 ruled that an earlier version was discriminatory. However, Mexico and Canada were still not satisfied with the updated version of COOL. The two countries took their case back to WTO.
Mexico and Canada argued that the rule hurts their ability to compete.
An official report on the WTOs most recent findings has been sent to the governments of the three countries, but is not expected to be made public until late September or October. However, sources familiar with the WTO report told the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. did not prevail.
"We do for a fact know that the ruling, when it is made public, will be in favor of Canada and Mexico," one source said. Another source made a similar statement.
According to WTO rules, the United States will have 60 days to appeal from the time the report is made public.

Canada ag minister: COOL hurting US, Canada swine industries

Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has stressed the importance of ending the discrimination against Canadian hogs and cattle under mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and emphasized the growing recognition that COOL is harming farmers and industry in the U.S. and Canada alike. Speaking to the U.S.’s National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Ritz stressed that should Canada prevail in the compliance proceedings as anticipated, its government will seek authorization from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports.
While in meeting with the NCBA in Denver, Ritz took the opportunity to meet with key U.S. meat stakeholders, business and government leaders to discuss next steps for advocating against COOL in the coming months.
“With the full support and active engagement of Canadian and U.S. industry, our government will continue to fight against this protectionist policy which is hurting producers and consumers alike. We will continue to use whatever tools necessary to achieve a fair resolution of this issue so that our livestock sectors on both sides of the border can realize their true economic potential,” said Ritz.
COOL continues to significantly disrupt the North American supply chain, Ritz said, creating unpredictability in the market and imposed additional costs on producers on both sides of the border.
Following Canada’s successful challenges of COOL at the WTO in 2011 and 2012, a WTO compliance panel was established on September 25, 2013, to determine whether the U.S. has brought COOL into conformity.

Poultry labeling law sought by Mississippi official

Bothered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s recent decision to end its ban on processed chicken imports from China, Mississippi state Rep. Tom Miles hopes to implement a country-of-origin labeling law. Miles is concerned that allowing Chinese chicken products into the U.S. could hurt the Mississippi broiler industry.
"I am very alarmed that the USDA has decided to let factories in China process our locally produced chicken for human consumption," Miles told the Clairon-Ledger.
Miles said he plans to introduce legislation similar in design to Mississippi's truth-in-labeling bill for catfish. That legislation requires anyone who sells or serves catfish in any form to post where their catfish is processed.
However, Mark Leggett, president of the Mississippi Poultry Association, said he thinks such legislation could have a retaliatory effect that would be bad for the state's chicken industry. He said Mississippi ranks fifth among U.S. states in chicken exports, and China is Mississippi's fourth-largest customer for chicken.
"Exports are where the growth is," Leggett said. 

Unpackaged chicken included in Australia country of origin labeling

Unpackaged chicken, beef and sheep meat are now included in Australia's country of origin labeling rules, according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Food regulation ministers have 60 days to seek a review; if no review is sought, the decision becomes part of food law in Australia states and territories. “Research indicates country of origin information is important to consumers and is valued more in fresh food products such as fresh meat than other food categories,” said Food Standards Australia New Zealand CEO Steve McCutcheon. “Mandating additional country of origin labeling requirements will ensure consumers are provided with access to this information consistently across the retail sector.”
The cost of the change to the industry is not expected to be great, said McCutcheon, since many retailers already label their products voluntarily.

EU extends country of origin meat labeling laws

The European Parliament’s July 6 decision to extend mandatory “country of origin” labeling to fresh meat from pigs, as well as sheep, goats and poultry, has been welcomed by the British National Farmers Union.
NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond said the extension is a significant move that gives consumers clear and honest information about the origins of their food. “With mandatory country of origin labeling finally extended to pork, lamb and poultry, all British consumers will at last know where their fresh meat comes from,” said Raymond. “There is more work to be done to make sure origin labeling is extended to processed meats and dairy products,” he said.

EU legislation would require country of origin labeling for poultry, pig meat

New legislation on country of origin labeling for fresh poultry, pork and lamb is due to be voted on by the European Parliament in July.
Welfare charity Compassion in World Farming has welcomed the move but hopes that in the future, labeling will offer more information to help consumers identify welfare issues. The charity wants labels to detail not only place of birth but also where an animal was reared and slaughtered.
It says that detailed labeling would enable consumers to identify if animals have been transported live from one country to another, or if the animal was slaughtered without first being stunned and also if animals have been intensively reared.
The European Commission said that one year after the enforcement of the new legislation, it will examine whether country of origin labeling of meat should be extended to meat used as ingredients. One year after this, it will review whether the legislation should be extended to other types of meat. Legislation is already in place for beef, milk, milk used as an ingredients, unprocessed foods, single-ingredient products and ingredients that represent more than 50% of a food.