Arkansas Congressional delegation to seek repeal of COOL labeling rules

A ruling by the World Trade Organization against a U.S. product labeling regulation is more proof that the U.S. law needs to be repealed, members of the state’s congressional delegation said Monday.

The WTO ruled against the United States “Country of Origin Labeling,” or COOL, policy during a meeting Monday. The final ruling launches a WTO process to determine the level of retaliatory tariffs Canada and Mexico can impose on the U.S.

According to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report, the rules were created during the 2002 Farm Bill and amended during the 2008 Farm Bill.

The policy requires “most retail food stores to inform consumers about the country of origin of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, shellfish, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, ginseng and ground and muscle cuts of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and goat,” the report noted.

The rules took effect in March 2009, but received immediate opposition from Canada and Mexico.

Springdale-based Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest meat production and distribution companies, deferred comment to the North American Meat Institute. Officials with NAMI said the WTO ruling is a clear sign the COOL labeling should be repealed.

"The WTO has spoken not once, not twice, not three times, but four times in panel and appellate body decisions. All four rulings found against the U.S.," NAMI President and CEO Barry Carpenter said in a statement. "Now, after years of grappling with this costly and onerous rule – a rule that USDA's own economic analysis says is a burden on livestock producers, meat packers and processors with no consumer benefit – it is clear that repealing the statute is the best step forward.”

Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., as well as Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, agreed that the COOL labeling rules negatively impact Arkansas’ farmers and consumers.

“I’ve long opposed the COOL mandate because it alienates our trading partners, increases compliance costs, and offers few benefits. Unless Congress acts, American businesses will be subject to billions of dollars in undeserved tariffs and these costs will be passed on to consumers. I’m committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to find a workable solution,” Boozman said.

“The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against the United States’ Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule earlier today, a decision that was expected. U.S. meat labels, mandated since 2009, list where the animals are born, raised, and slaughtered. Both Canada and Mexico have argued that the labeling requirements unfairly target their cows and pigs by increasing the compliance cost for meatpackers with little payoff for consumers. This is the 4th time the WTO has ruled against the United States,” Crawford, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, said.

“Country of Origin Labeling not only drives up compliance costs for our domestic producers, but the WTO’s ruling against the rule will now allow for billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports. In order to prevent the further harm this costly rule will inflict on the U.S. economy, today I am introducing legislation – along with a bipartisan group of colleagues – that repeals COOL requirements for meat once and for all,” Crawford said.

Cotton said the ruling will increase tariffs and impact Arkansans.

“Today the World Trade Organization once again validated the concerns of agricultural producers across Arkansas and the country with current Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations. Unless these regulations are reversed, Arkansas exports will soon face a 100 percent retaliatory tariff that will directly impact profit margins and devastate our state economy. President Obama should change course and support the efforts underway in Congress to repeal these misguided regulations immediately. Rest assured, I am working with my colleagues in Congress as well as with partners at the Canadian and Mexican embassies to modify COOL regulations and protect Arkansans from losing access to these important markets,” Cotton said.