|
U.S. to appeal WTO ruling against meat labels
Story Date: 3/26/2012
| |
Source: MEATINGPLACE, 3/23/12
The U.S. government said Friday it would appeal a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against that the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law for cattle, hogs and some fresh produce.
The WTO in November found the law violates U.S. obligations under WTO rules.
"We were disappointed that the panel disagreed with the way that the United States designed its COOL requirements with regard to beef and pork. Accordingly, we are challenging the panel's report before the WTO Appellate Body," Andrea Mead, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, told Reuters.
In its Nov. 18 ruling, WTO said the COOL measure violates a Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreement “by according less [favorable] treatment to imported Canadian cattle and hogs than to like domestic products” and because it doesn’t “[fulfill] is legitimate objective of providing consumers with information on origin…”
"We are very disappointed in this decision. Instead of working diligently to bring the United States into WTO compliance, our government has opted to engage in an appeal process, which jeopardizes our strong trade relationship with Canada and Mexico, the two largest importers of U.S. beef," National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Vice President Bob McCann said in a statement. "An appeal is the wrong answer and a waste of valuable resources. This appeal will do nothing but escalate tension with our valuable trade partners and will prolong an issue that could be resolved quickly. We should be working toward a solution instead of creating a bigger problem."
For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com/.
|
|
|
|
