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Coalition asks Congress to rescind parts of COOL

A long list of agriculture organizations and other groups sent Congress a letter today asking members to “immediately authorize and direct” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack “to rescind elements of COOL [country-of-origin labeling for red meat] that have been determined to be non-compliant with international trade obligations by a final WTO [World Trade Organization] adjudication.”

Such action by Congress would not undermine COOL to the extent it is consistent with international trade obligations nor would it weaken the U.S. defense of COOL in WTO litigation, the COOL Reform Coalition said.

The list of letter-signers included many commodity groups but it did not include the two largest general farm groups, the National Farmers Union or the American Farm Bureau Federation. (See link)



The United States still has the right to appeal the ruling, but the coalition said its members are “gravely concerned” that “Canada and Mexico could subject an array of U.S. exports to retaliatory tariffs.”

The letter can be seen at http://www.coolreform.com > news and press > link under ‘letters.’



–The Hagstrom Report