An alliance of industry organizations and companies under the name COOL Reform Coalition has sent a letter to Congress asking legislators to “immediately authorize and direct the Secretary of Agriculture to rescind elements of COOL,” the coalition said in a news release.
The coalition seeks a legislative solution to those elements of the Country of Origin Labeling regulations that the World Trade Organization recently ruled were “noncompliant with international trade obligations” in a final WTO adjudication.
The coalition’s letter was signed by 109 organizations, including Agri Beef Co., Cargill Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., Hillshire Brands, Hormel Foods Corp., Kraft Foods Group Inc., National Beef Packing Co., National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, North American Meat Association, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods and U.S. Premium Beef LLC.
The letter states, in part:
"Canada has already issued a preliminary retaliation list targeting a broad spectrum of commodities and manufactured products that will affect every state in the country. Mexico has not yet announced a preliminary retaliation list, but has implemented retaliatory tariffs in the past which may be indicative of future tariff opportunities. It is expected that U.S. industries would suffer billions in lost sales if retaliation is allowed.
Given the negative impact on the U.S. manufacturing and agriculture economy, we respectfully submit that it would be intolerable for the United States to maintain, even briefly, a rule that has been deemed non-compliant by the WTO. [W]e request that Congress immediately authorize and direct the Secretary of Agriculture to rescind elements of COOL that have been determined to be noncompliant with international trade obligations by a final WTO adjudication. Such action by Congress would not undermine COOL to the extent COOL is consistent with international trade obligations nor would it weaken the U.S. defense of COOL in WTO litigation."
The coalition also is offering a state-by-state “retaliatory analysis” of the actions threatened by Canada and Mexico.
For more information, visit www.coolreform.com.