The US government is appealing a WTO ruling that its country-of-origin rules for various foodstuffs break global trade agreements.
Canada and Mexico had successfully brought dispute proceedings against the US over its country-of-origin labelling, or COOL, rules. They apply to various meat, fish and nut products and say raw materials should be wholly produced in the exporting country for a made-in-Canada or Mexico label to apply.
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The rules caused major problems regarding pork and beef products, with both countries regularly moving livestock and meat to and from the US, for finishing, slaughtering, butchering, processing and packaging.
Under COOL, burdensome checks were required at the US border to assess whether an animal or meat product was made in Canada, Mexico or the US, which the Canadian government said is a “lengthy labelling and tracking system with an unnecessary paperwork burden” causing the “disintegration of the North American supply chain”.
