WASHINGTON: Sounding a bleak tone, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts told a Senate committee that Congress must act quickly in repealing country-of-origin labelling or face dire retaliation.
Roberts chaired a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee on threats of trade retaliation by Canada and Mexico if the United States doesn’t put an end to mandatory country-of-origin labelling, commonly called COOL.
Beginning in 2002, retailers have been required by law to provide labels detailing where some fresh meat products were raised, slaughtered and processed. Since 2009, Canada and Mexico have challenged the law before the World Trade Organization, arguing it discriminates against Canadian and Mexican products.
In May, the WTO once again sided with the United States’ neighbors, rejecting a U.S. appeal and granting Canada and Mexico permission to invoke billions of dollars in tariffs on the U.S. if it fails to repeal COOL.
“If you take anything away from my remarks today, I hope it is this: Facts are stubborn things, and whether you support COOL or oppose COOL, the fact is retaliation is coming. And this committee has to fix it,” Roberts said.
Roberts said more than $3.2 billion in sanctions on American products are possible if mandatory COOL isn’t repealed. While Mexico hasn’t yet finalized a list of products to sanction, Canada has said it will target beef, pork, wine, jewelry, mattresses and more for retaliation.
“As chairman of this committee, I must emphasize to my colleagues and all of agriculture that retaliation is fast approaching and the responsibility sits squarely on our shoulders to avoid it,” Roberts said.
The threat of retaliation has prompted heated discussions on COOL for the first time since the 2014 farm bill was debated.
“Congress had the opportunity to fix mandatory COOL in the 2014 farm bill,” Roberts said. “Some wanted to wait out the WTO process. Well, that process has played out, and there’s no more time to wait.”
On June 10, the House voted 300-131 to repeal COOL for beef, pork and chicken products. All four members of Kansas’ U.S. House delegation voted in favor of the bill, H.R. 2393.
“The House has moved quickly to prevent retaliation by repealing mandatory COOL for meat. Now the responsibility falls on us,” Roberts told the Senate committee. “The Senate must act prior to the WTO’s authorization of retaliation. The WTO stove is hot, and we don’t want to touch it.”
Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee received letters from Canadian and Mexican officials Wednesday reinforcing their threats of sanctions.
“Retaliation is imminent and inevitable unless and until the U.S. takes action to repeal the underlying COOL statute,” Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo told the senators.
“For Canada, legislative repeal of COOL is the only approach that will achieve this end,” Canadian Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz wrote.
The agriculture committee heard the testimony of a half-dozen witnesses from several agricultural companies and associations, including Kansas Livestock Association president Jaret Moyer.
“Proponents of COOL have long said mandatory labeling would cause the U.S. consumer to actively seek out and pay more for U.S. beef. Six years into implementation it is clear this is not the case,” Moyer said.
Moyer cited a Kansas State University study that found while consumers often say they want to know where their beef comes from, they don’t consider it in their purchasing decision.
“From burdensome record keeping, to line sorting and segregation, and to the actual label itself, all segments of the beef industry have been paying the costs of COOL since it went into effect in October 2008,” Moyer said. “All segments of the U.S. beef industry have been impacted negatively by COOL.”
Supporters of COOL include the National Farmers Union, United States Cattlemen’s Association, American Sheep Industry Association and Consumer Federation of America.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-COOL or anti-COOL, you cannot ignore the fact that retaliation is imminent, and we must avoid it,” Roberts said. “Repeal of mandatory COOL is the surest way to protect the U.S. economy.”
