Washington, D.C. - In advance of today’s Senate hearing on U.S. country of origin labeling, Mexican and Canadian officials sent separate letters to Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, stating that a full repeal of COOL is the only option.
“For Canada, legislative repeal of COOL is the only approach that will achieve this end,” wrote Canadian Minister of Agriculture Gary Ritz.
“Retaliation is imminent and inevitable unless and until the U.S. takes action to repeal the underlying COOL statute,” wrote Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Villarreal.
Chairman Roberts said, “Whether you support COOL or oppose COOL, the fact is retaliation is coming. And this committee has to fix it.”
Retaliation is imminent, and the U.S. cannot delay in preventing the expected $3.2 billion in sanctions on U.S. products that range from meat and chocolate to jewelry and furniture. According to USDA, mandatory COOL has already cost the U.S. beef, pork and chicken sectors approximately $1.8 billion. There is overwhelming support in Congress to repeal this failed program, evidenced by the 300 House members who voted earlier this month in favor of H.R. 2393, a bill to repeal mandatory COOL for beef, pork, and chicken.
