Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 1/18/18


Cattlemen groups have reinforced arguments in a lawsuit they filed in June alleging that USDA is unlawfully helping meatpackers mislabel imported beef as “Products of the USA” and thereby reducing the income of domestic cattle producers.

In court documents filed Friday, R-CALF USA and the Cattle Producers of Washington sought to clarify their position, in response to USDA’s motion for summary judgment contending that the groups were attempting to invalidate Congress’s repeal (in 2016) of the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law. The agency says the repeal of the COOL law resolves this issue. The government also disputes the plaintiffs’ claim that the agency’s actions have caused them financial injury.

The groups state that they are not seeking to reinstate COOL, which required country-of-origin labeling on all meat products, including imports and domestic. (The groups were staunch proponents of that rule.) Rather, they say they want USDA to enforce the full letter of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, which incorporates the Tariff Act of 1930. That act requires country-of-origin labels specifically on imported meat until it undergoes a substantial transformation in the United States.

USDA’s position has been that imported beef can be treated as domestic beef if the imported product comes from a country whose food safety standards are equivalent to those of the United States. Meatpackers can therefore label imported beef as “Products of the USA” even if that product receives only minor processing, the plaintiffs argue.

The plaintiffs have submitted evidence to show they receive higher cattle prices when the animal’s country of origin is distinguished. Proper enforcement of the Tariff Act, they say, would shift market forces “in favor of true domestic producers.” 
The new filing states that, as of now, USDA is helping flood the U.S. market with mislabeled foreign beef that decreases the market leverage and income of U.S. cattle producers.

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