Last week, Senator Stabenow (D., Mich.) proposed a voluntary country-of-origin label for pork and beef, which would require labels indicating where animals are born, raised, and slaughtered before the meat could be considered domestic. With this action, Stabenow is setting "the basis for a bipartisan solution," which would allow the United States to comply with international trade regulations, back the House's decision on repealing U.S. COOL meat regulations to avoid retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico, and still protect Americans' interest in knowing where their meat comes from.
As discussed in previous Jones Day Updates, the World Trade Organization ("WTO") has ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico, finding U.S. COOL meat label rules a violation of WTO commitments. Canada and Mexico have threatened the United States with annual retaliatory tariffs of a combined $3 billion as a result of the negative economic effect U.S. rules would have on their sales. Pat Roberts, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, praised Stabenow's proposal as a "positive step" but added that "retaliation is imminent and ... repeal of mandatory COOL is the surest way to protect the U.S. economy."
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