WTO rules some aspects of COOL labeling violate trade laws

Other 08:34 13/09/2014
(seafood.com) In a case involving the meat industry, that could have some ramifications for seafood, the WTO ruled that some aspects of the U.S. Country of Origin (COOL) labeling laws were an unfair trade practice and violated agreements with Canada and Mexico.

However, the WTO did not rule all labeling laws unfair; it simply said that the record keeping required for foreign hog and cattle producers was too onerous, and had to be revised.

The US Trade Representative Ron Kirk issued the following statement in response to the ruling: "Today’s ruling affirmed the United States’ right to adopt labeling requirements that provide information to American consumers about the meat they buy,” said Ambassador Kirk. “The Appellate Body’s ruling confirms that families can still receive information on the origin of their meat and other food products when they shop for groceries. The Obama Administration remains committed to ensuring that information on the origin of all food products covered by COOL is available to American families so they can make informed purchasing decisions."

“We are also pleased that the Appellate Body overturned the initial finding that COOL is more trade restrictive than necessary to provide consumers with valuable information on the food they buy,” Ambassador Kirk added. “In doing so, the Appellate Body agreed with the United States and declined to accept any of the alternatives that Canada and Mexico claimed we should have used instead.”

While overturning some of the Panel’s key findings against the United States, however, the Appellate Body continued to find fault with certain aspects of COOL’s design. Due to COOL’s record keeping and verification requirements, it upheld the Panel’s finding that COOL provides less favorable treatment to Canadian and Mexican cattle and hogs than American livestock.

The bottom line appears to be that some revsions in COOL record keeping may be in store, but the basic requirement for country of origin labeling will not be repealed.

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