WTO Rules in COOL Dispute

Aug 22, 2014

By Jean-Paul McDonald, Farms.com

According to individuals familiar with the WTO case regarding the U.S’s mandatory country-of-origin-labeling law (COOL), the WTO has ruled in favor of the main opponents – Canada and Mexico. The on-going dispute has pitted Canada and Mexico against the United States over the controversial labeling law that requires meat sold in the U.S to clearly label certain information about the animal, including where it was born, raised and slaughtered. Livestock producers and industry groups in Canada and Mexico argue that the labeling system creates bias with American consumers against imported meat products.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, sources familiar with the WTO ruling said the final ruling “will be in favor of Canada and Mexico”

In 2012, Mexico and Canada won a challenge in the WTO court over the COOL law, which prompted the U.S Department of Agriculture to update labeling requirements in an effort to make the law more compliant with international trade rules. The WTO recently provided all three governments (American, Canadian, and Mexican) with their decision in July, but the information has not been formally made public yet.

Once the final decision is made public, the U.S will have an option to appeal. Should the United States appeal the decision and further delay the conclusion, Canada could potentially begin to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S exports starting in 2015.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.