COOL
Slaughter cattle set record price, feedlot total drops
Bids for slaughter cattle hit a record $170 per 100 pounds last week amid limited supplies in Kansas, Texas, Nebraska and Colorado, says Beef Today. Cash prices were up $6 per 100 pounds on live cattle.
Appeal and negotiate on COOL, don’t repeal it, say backers
The United States should appeal an adverse WTO ruling on country-of-origin labels on beef, pork and chicken meat, said four farm and consumer groups.
WTO again says U.S. meat-orgin labels distort world trade
For the second time, the World Trade Organization ruled U.S. meat-origin labels are a violation of global trade rules. The ruling, which can be appealed, opens the door to retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods if the regulations are not modified. Appeals generally are not successful at this stage at WTO but they can delay an adverse decision for a couple of months.
Ruling on COOL is “weeks, if not days” from announcement
The World Trade Organization ruling on U.S. meat-origin labels could be public in "weeks, if not days" in the words of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, says Feedstuffs.
Keep your COOL, senators ask Appropriations Committee
The World Trade Organization is unlikely to rule until "well into 2015" on U.S. meat-labeling rules, say 32 senators in a letter arguing against unilateral surrender in the dispute with Canada and Mexico.
WTO rules against US meat-label rules for second time
The World Trade Organization has ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico in the six-year-old dispute over U.S. rules that require packages of beef, pork and poultry to carry labels saying where the meat was produced, says the Wall Street Journal.
Foes try to de-fang meat-labeling law in USDA bill
Foes hope to shorten the lifetime of the country-of-origin meat labeling law with help of the Agriculture Department funding bill pending in the House.
Canada says US will ride COOL “right to the bottom”
The United States will not change its meat-labeling regime before an expected World Trade Organization ruling in July, Canadian Agriculture Minister Gary Ritz told reporters following a meeting of farm ministers from Mexico, Canada and the United States, says Country Guide. Ritz said he told Ag Secretary Vilsack that Canada is ready to retaliate over the U.S. country-of-origin labeling rules.
Mexico, Canada and US vow fair and open ag trade
The agriculture ministers of the three giant nations of North America met in Mexico City and issued a statement "to reaffirm the benefits of fair and open trade for our economies and food security...From Mexico City, to Washington, to Ottawa, we will continue to show the world how trade and open borders support economic growth and jobs."
Appellate court to hear mandatory meat-label case
The U.S. Court of Appeals in DC is scheduled to hear arguments today over USDA regulations that require cuts of beef, pork and poultry meat to carry labels saying where the meat was born, raised and slaughtered, says Feedstuffs. It's the latest hearing for a case that began July 2013.
Foes get second chance at COOL in US appeals court
A federal appeals court says it will hear arguments on May 19 before the court's full panel of judges in a challenge by the meat industry to U.S. meat-labeling rules, says Canadian Press.