Two days ahead of a hearing on meat-origin labels, the Republican-controlled Senate Agriculture Committee circulated a release saying that, “Repeal is the only option for Canada and Mexico – and now the United States.” Titled a fact sheet, the release recapitulated the argument for repeal of the law that requires cuts of beef, pork and chicken to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. Canada and Mexico won a definitive WTO ruling against the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) system on May 18, and have threatened to impose more than $3 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. manufactured and agricultural products if COOL is not repealed.
“Though Chairman [Pat] Roberts supports repeal, he is willing to work with members to find a workable solution that will appease Canada and Mexico,” said a spokeswoman for the Kansas Republican.
The Agriculture Committee is to hear from five advocates of repeal and one defender of COOL during a hearing on Thursday on the potential impact of retaliatory tariffs. Defenders say repeal is premature when Canada and Mexico have yet to prove they were damaged by the U.S. rules.