Earlier this month, in a majority 300-131 vote, the House of Representatives approved a bill to repeal country-of-origin labeling (COOL) after ongoing trade disputes with Canada and Mexico. Currently, U.S. law requires imported beef, pork, and poultry products be labeled with information identifying the country where the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered. The neighboring countries claimed the labeling practices unfairly favored American farmers and, as a result, cost the Canadian agricultural and meat industry over $1 billion in lost sales each year. In May 2015, the Word Trade Organization (WTO) denied another U.S. appeal to uphold the labeling practice and ruled that it was discriminatory against the two countries. Canadian lawmakers have proposed to impose retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. commodities such as cheese, chocolate, fruit, and wine. According to Wine America, the national association of American wineries, the U.S. could face over $600 million in tariffs for imports into Mexico, and $2.5 billion dollars in tariffs for products entering Canada, one of the largest foreign markets for U.S. wineries. Last year alone, U.S. wine exports to Canada reached $487 million. If approved by the WTO, Canada would be able to implement the new tariffs as early as this summer.
Representatives who voted against the bill feared the removal of such labeling would effectively strip consumer protection and allow foreign distributors to circumvent food safety standards. However, those supporting the repeal noted that existing U.S. Department of Agriculture ratings provide consumers with a reasonable metric to judge the quality and safety of any meat they are purchasing.
The bill is pending a Senate vote and if approved, would signal some significant changes in future U.S./Canadian agri-food trade relations.
Representatives who voted against the bill feared the removal of such labeling would effectively strip consumer protection and allow foreign distributors to circumvent food safety standards. However, those supporting the repeal noted that existing U.S. Department of Agriculture ratings provide consumers with a reasonable metric to judge the quality and safety of any meat they are purchasing.
The bill is pending a Senate vote and if approved, would signal some significant changes in future U.S./Canadian agri-food trade relations.