The US Senate will consider legislation to establish a system of voluntary country-of-origin labelling (COOL) for meat products, in the wake of a World Trade Organization ruling the country's plans for mandatory labels breach trade rules.
The bi-partisan legislation was introduced last week (23 July) by Democrat Senator for Michigan, Debbie Stabenow, and the Republican representative for North Dakota, John Hoeven.
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Stabenow said under the Voluntary Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) and Trade Enhancement Act of 2015 the US would be able to satisfy its international trade arrangements and also "empower" consumers by providing them with access to meats labelled "product of the US". These labels would be applied to beef, pork, chicken and ground meat products that are from animals born, raised and harvested in the US.
"Michigan farmers and ranchers take pride in raising the world's safest and most affordable foods, and parents in Michigan want to know as much as possible about what their kids are eating," said Stabenow. "If consumers in Canada have the right to know where their food comes from through a voluntary labelling system, then American consumers should have the same. This bill is a path forward and will encourage international trade while giving families peace of mind."
Last month, the House of Representatives repealed the existing mandatory COOL regulations after Canada and Mexico threatened US$3bn in retaliatory sanctions.
The full repeal gained the support of US meat industry body the North American Meat Institute, which praised the "full and simple repeal". Speaking at the time, president and CEO Barry Carpenter insisted regulators could not "waste precious time debating proposals other than full and simple repeal" given the threat of trade sanctions. "Anything else jeopardises important segments of the US economy and ultimately our consumers," he insisted.
However, speaking last week when the voluntary COOL bill was introduced to the Senate, Hoeven stressed the new proposals will see off any potential retaliatory sanctions from the US's trading partners.
"Retaliatory tariffs won’t just impact meat producers and processors, but will also affect consumers, businesses and jobs, so Senator Stabenow and I have developed a solution that should work for all of them," Hoeven said.
"We cannot put ourselves in a position where Canada and Mexico can retaliate against us for mandatory country-of-origin labelling, but we can have a voluntary labelling program and still meet WTO requirements."
