Congress Repeals Controversial COOL Rule

On December 18, 2015 ,Congress repealed the controversial U.S. Country-of-Origin-labeling ("COOL") rule, thereby avoiding the $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico recently authorized by the World Trade Organization ("WTO"). The repeal, which drew bipartisan support, took the form of a provision of the recently passed federal spending bill. As discussed in previous Jones Day Updates, the WTO found that the COOL rule violated international trade commitments. In response to concerns about mad-cow disease and other food safety issues, the 2009 COOL rule has required meat products to indicate where animals were born, raised, and slaughtered before the meat could be considered domestic. Now, beef and pork no longer have to comply with COOL rules, although chicken and lamb must still be labeled. Following the repeal, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA would no longer enforce the COOL requirements for beef and pork, although he assured consumers that "all imported and domestic meat will continue to be subject to rigorous inspections by USDA to ensure food safety."

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