Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) introduced H.R. 2393, a bill to repeal mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for beef, pork, and chicken products. Chairman Conaway and his colleagues held a bipartisan press conference with representatives from industries that are targets of retaliation by Canada and Mexico.
H.R. 2393 would amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to repeal Country of Origin Labeling requirements with respect to beef, pork, and poultry, and for other purposes. The Agriculture Committee will consider this legislation tomorrow, May 20, during a 10:00 a.m. business meeting.
“In light of the WTO’s decision and the certainty that we face significant retaliation by Canada and Mexico, we cannot afford to delay action. That’s why I was joined by 61 of my colleagues in introducing H.R. 2393, a bill to repeal mandatory COOL for beef, pork and chicken. This bill is a targeted response that will remove uncertainty, provide stability, and bring us back into compliance. I appreciate the support of so many colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we work quickly to ensure our economy and a broad spectrum of U.S. industries do not suffer the economic impacts of retaliation,” said Chairman Conaway.
“As we have seen time and again, mandatory Country of Origin Labeling is a misguided government policy that has damaged our trading relationships with Canada and Mexico and subjected the United States to trade retaliations. That is why I am honored to be joined by my colleagues in introducing critical bipartisan legislation to repeal COOL for beef, pork and chicken. We have the data, studies, and the World Trade Organization’s experience to demonstrate that COOL is detrimental to our state and national economies, and hurts our nation’s beef, pork and chicken producers and packers. As such, I look forward to continuing to work, in a bipartisan manner, with Congress to move this legislation forward and repeal COOL,” said Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee’s Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee.
“I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this bill. Repealing COOL is the right thing to do. If Congress doesn’t act quickly, the retaliatory actions taken by Canada and Mexico will bring widespread harm to countless families and businesses across North Carolina and the country,” said Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee.
