“Cool” Legislation In Trouble at the WTO

The U.S. has lost a fourth arbitration attempt in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to maintain the Country of Origin Labeling requirements (COOL). COOL was developed when the 2008 Farm Bill, amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require retailers, to inform consumers of the country of origin of various meats, fish, shellfish, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Suppliers of covered commodities to retail establishments must provide the retailers with country of origin information. The biggest issue has been the impact on Canada and Mexico as many North American agricultural products are co-mingled and re-exported and/or reprocessed. Both nations determined that the origin designation among North American products is discriminatory, against the spirit of NAFTA and a violation of general trade rules as established by the WTO. With the most recent arbitration loss in the WTO, along with specific threats to retaliate against U.S. imports to Canada and Mexico in the form of high tariffs, it has become apparent to U.S. legislators that the most sensible course of action is to repeal COOL. The repeal legislation has been approved in the House and now moves to the Senate. While COOL labeling is not required for dry beans, our industry would likely be impacted by retaliatory tariffs if the repeal legislation is not approved. We will continue to monitor and report on this initiative.