WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) — Members of a House of Representatives-Senate panel have indicated that country-of-origin labelling may be repealed.
COOL, which the U.S. government calls a “consumer information” program, is favoured by consumer groups. However, it has been a lightning rod for dispute for more than a decade.
Congress approved meat origin labelling in 2002, but it did not become mandatory until 2009.
The government re-wrote the regulations this year in an attempt to satisfy a 2012 World Trade Organization ruling, but it has been challenged again at the WTO.
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At the first negotiating session on a final version of the new $500 billion U.S. farm bill, several lawmakers said COOL should be revised or repealed, in part because of the risk of international sanctions.
“I am hopeful that working together we can prevent the imposition of tariffs on a wide array of products important to many states,” House agriculture committee chair Frank Lucas said in an opening statement. Under congressional protocol, he chairs the farm bill talks.
Canada and Mexico say the law led to a decline in sales of their cattle and hogs because of additional costs to handle them. U.S. meat packers say COOL is a bookkeeping headache that also drives up costs.
Defenders such as the National Farmers Union and the Consumer Federation of America say COOL helps shoppers make informed decisions on their meat purchases. They said there is no need for Congress to intervene.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says COOL is not a food safety or traceability program. Foreign food products must still meet U.S. food safety standards.
Republican senator Pat Roberts from Kansas, one of the largest U.S. cattle states, said he would support a House provision that was under development and expected to be a repeal clause for COOL.
Senate agriculture chair Debbie Stabenow said COOL “clearly is one of the issues” for farm bill negotiators.
