A coalition of foodmakers, meatpackers and allies from industry asked Congress to order an overhaul of U.S. country-of-origin meat-labeling rules. In a letter to lawmakers, the COOL Reform Coalition pointed to the World Trade Organization ruling against the rules on Oct 20 and said Congress should direct USDA “to rescind elements of COOL that have been determined to be non-compliant with international trade obligations.” WTO said the U.S. regulations discriminated against livestock from Mexico and Canada. It was the second WTO decision since 2012 against the rules.
“It is expected that U.S. industries would suffer billions of dollars in lost sales if retaliation is allowed,” said the letter. The Obama administration has not decided if it will appeal the ruling, which would delay a final decision into 2015. Consumer groups and the two largest U.S. farm groups support the meat labels as part of a consumer right to know. The largest cattle and hog groups oppose the labels.