Livestock, Poultry Groups Oppose COOL Inclusion in Farm Bill
The U.S. livestock and poultry industries will actively oppose passage of a final Farm Bill conference report, should it contain country of origin labeling (COOL) regime that fails to meet World Trade Organization compliance standards, said six meat and poultry organizations in a Jan. 27 letter to the four Farm Bill conferees. The inclusion will invite Mexican and Canadian tariff hikes that will damage U.S. industry, said the organizations.
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“This retaliation will be crippling to our industries and will threaten the long-term relationship with two of our most important export markets,” said the letter. “COOL is a broken program that has only added costs to our industries without any measurable benefit for America’s consumers and livestock producers.” House conferees Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Collin Peterson, D-Minn., unveiled on Jan. 27 agreement with Senate conferees Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. on the report (here), and The Washington Post reports a vote is likely imminent (here).
The letter also expressed disapproval over the expected exclusion of an amendment that restricts regulations on the buying and selling of livestock, as part of the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration. Reps. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, and Jim Costa, D-Calif., introduced the amendment (here) in the House version of the Farm Bill, passed in 2013. “As well as restoring Congressional intent, this language was included in four appropriations bills (including 2014) and signed by the President,” said the letter. The American Meat Institute, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation and North American Meat Association co-endorsed the letter.
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