WASHINGTON, DC - Last week, the World Trade Organization (WTO) released a report concluding that the United States' Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule is not WTO compliant, paving the way for Canada and Mexico to proceed with retaliatory measures against U.S. products. Canada has published a lengthy retaliation list that includes import duties of 100 percent on U.S. rice.
Canada and Mexico claim COOL, which requires cuts of meat be labelled according to where the animal was born, raised, and processed, discriminates against meat originating within their borders, because providing this information consistently would be too onerous for the countries' industries.
The WTO agreed.
"The WTO process permitting member countries to impose retaliation is lengthy, so the earliest date when Canada and Mexico could retaliate if the issue is not settled is likely December 2015," explained Bob Cummings, USA Rice Federation's COO.
Cummings said USA Rice is an active member of the COOL Coalition, a group of companies and associations that advocate for the U.S. to come into compliance with our WTO obligations.
This morning, the COOL Coalition sent a letter to Congress urging them to grant the U.S. Department of Agriculture authority to rescind noncompliant elements of the COOL rule. The letter was signed by USA Rice and 108 other members of the coalition.
On its website, the COOL Coalition has an interactive map of the U.S. exports on that would be affected by a 100 percent duty.
Contact: Kristen Dayton (703) 236-1464
