U.S. Disputing Canada, Mexico: Retaliation Looms in Meat Labeling Dispute

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By Larry Limpf, The Press Sep 08, 2015

A hearing set for Sept. 15-16 in Geneva, Switzerland will be the latest round of a dispute in which Canada and Mexico are challenging U.S. regulations for labeling the origin of certain meat products.

The World Trade Organization will conduct the arbitration hearing as Mexico and Canada inch closer to implementing retaliatory tariffs.

In June, Congress approved a bill to repeal country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef, pork and chicken with many of the bill’s backers noting the U.S. had already lost disputes and appeals to the WTO.

During deliberations on the bill, Congressman K. Michael Conway, (R- Texas), a sponsor who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, said Canada and Mexico challenged the rule implementing COOL within months after the rule was published.

“In the fourth and final decision, released on May 18, the WTO rejected the United States’ argument and found that U.S. COOL requirements for beef and pork are unavoidably discriminatory,” he said, adding the WTO’s last ruling “kick-starts the process to determine the level of retaliatory tariffs Canada and Mexico can impose.”

Congressman Collin Peterson, (D – Minnesota), a member of the committee, countered that the bill was being rushed through the House prematurely.

He said the Canadian claim it suffered $3 billion in economic losses due to COOL “is ridiculous and is based on unsubstantiated and not publicly available data.”

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