Crucial House vote near on repeal of meat-origin labeling
The House could vote as early as Wednesday on repeal of mandatory country-of-origin labels (COOL) on packages of beef, pork and chicken sold in grocery stores. Meatpackers and the largest cattle and hog groups, who opposed COOL from the start, have their best chance in years to get rid of it. The World Trade Organization has issued a final ruling against COOL as a barrier to imported meat and livestock. Canada and Mexico say they will ask for WTO approval for $3.7 billion in retaliatory tariffs but their real goal – stated repeatedly – is repeal.
Agriculture Committee chairman Michael Conaway says a large House vote in favor of repeal will build impetus for the Senate to agree. So far, there has been no action in the Senate, where COOL is more popular. Senate Democrats blocked an attempt to eliminate COOL during final negotiations on the 2014 farm law. In his schedule for action this week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy says the repeal bill could be called for debate on Wednesday. The Rules Committee, the gateway for floor action, is to discuss the three-page bill on Tuesday afternoon and settle on the format for debate.
The United States is expected to object at mid-month when Canada asks WTO to approve retaliation on a range of U.S. agricultural and manufactured products, delaying any retaliation until fall. The objection would trigger a 90-day period for consultations among the nations and would allow the United States to argue against retaliatory tariffs. The National Farmers Union says the 2008-09 recession is the culprit in any downturn in sales by Canada and Mexico, not the labeling law.
“Our country’s credibility as a serious and fair-minded trade partner is on the line. The COOL law must be repealed now,” said the North American Meat Institute, a meat industry group. The National Corn Growers Association said “retaliation by Canada will have a significant impact on American farmers and ranchers.” Canada’s target list includes beef, pork, wine, cherries, pasta, corn, office furniture and mattresses. Canada and Mexico are the number 2 and 3 markets respectively for U.S. farm exports. The USDA forecasts the two nations will jointly buy $40.5 billion in U.S. goods while shipping $44.8 billion in farm products to U.S. buyers this fiscal year.
COOL, backed by consumer groups as part of a consumers’ right to know, has been mandatory for beef, pork and chicken since 2010. The labels, which say where animals bearing the meat were born, raised and slaughtered, often are in small type and may appear on the front or back of a meat package. They are not as prominent as the familiar Nutrition Facts label, introduced two decades ago.
Beef and pork were the lightning rods for the WTO challenge by Canada and Mexico because of sizable cross-border trade in meat and animals, but COOL also applies to fruits and vegetables, seafood, poultry, lamb, goat and venison, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts and ginseng.