Country of Origin Labeling

First adopted in the 2002 Farm Bill, COOL has since been challenged in the World Trade Organization (WTO) by Canada and Mexico, main livestock exporters to the U.S., four times. Last month, the WTO's Appellate Body ruled against the United States’ Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for meat for the fourth and final time. As a result, Canada and Mexico, the United States’ top trade partners, will seek more than $3 billion annually in retaliatory sanctions against U.S. exports – products ranging from meat and wheat to wine, chocolate and even furniture. This will be needlessly destructive to our overall economy and will hurt nearly every industry, every state, and every consumer.