COOL Rule Still Deemed Discriminatory

It's been said that “the devil is in the details”. This has especially been true it seems when it comes to the USDA’s original and revised Country of Origin Labeling rule. For the last several years the COOL rule has come under fire from not only the World Trade Organization but numerous agriculture groups here in the U.S.. The WTO ruled that previous labeling practices were unfair to Mexico and Canada, while livestock groups contend that the COOL rule would require “costly and detailed labels on meat products that do not directly advance a substantial government interest”. The WTO most recently cited that the USDA has not changed the rule enough - ruling that the mandatory COOL statute still violates U.S. international trade obligations by discriminating against Canadian cattle and pigs, and Mexican cattle, and therefore is illegal. So, where do we go from here? As United States Cattlemen’s Association President Danni Beer recently said to Ag Network’s Greg Martin, “What we’d have to do is change the way its implemented to not make it discriminatory toward Canada and Mexico products …. It’s more in the details of how you implement the program. WTO didn’t say don’t do it, they said do it in a way that’s non-discriminatory.”