Del.icio.us  Digg  facebook  MySpace  Twitter  Google  Bookmark Me  LinkedIn  StumbleUpon  Permalink

AMI Declares COOL Violates U.S. Obligations

Late last year Canada and Mexico filed a case against the United States asking the World Trade Organization to rule on the legality of U.S. Country of Origin Labeling law. In response to a notice in the Federal Register, the American Meat Institute has told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that mandatory country-of-origin labeling violates U.S. international trade obligations.  

In the response, Mark Dopp, AMI Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, said the U.S. COOL requirements are not consistent with U.S. obligations under both World Trade Organization and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and North American Free Trade Agreement. According to Dopp, COOL is inconsistent with trade agreements because of its discriminatory effect on imported meat and imported live animals.

Critical to the United States' ability to enforce successfully World Trade Organization and North American Free Trade Agreement obligations is consistency in U.S. behavior and actions Dopp says. In that regard, the United States' credibility is undermined when U.S. legislation violates America's commitments pursuant to those international agreements.