Senators urge Obama to prevent WTO from making changes

By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press

The Obama administration is reaffirming its vow to vigorously defend a new country-of-origin labeling law after being urged by 25 U.S. senators to do so.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office is working closely with the Department of Agriculture to take America's case to the World Trade Organization, asserts Debbie Mesloh, the deputy assistant U.S. trade representative in Washington, D.C.

"The United States believes the country-of-origin provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill are fully consistent with all of our WTO trade obligations," Mesloh told the Capital Press in an e-mail.

Mesloh's reassurances come after U.S. Sens. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., led a group of senators calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and trade representative Ron Kirk to defend mandatory country-of-origin labeling against complaints from Canada and Mexico.

Johnson and Enzi were joined by 23 colleagues, including Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

The senators urged the government to ensure that no changes are made to the program as a result of the WTO process.

"Over 45 other nations have each already implemented a food labeling program which provides country-of-origin information to consumers," the senators wrote. "As you know, both Canada and Mexico have implemented food labeling programs of their own to make such information available. Some of the origin labeling programs implemented in other countries require that more information be made available to the consumer than what is required by the food labeling program in the United States.

"The food labeling programs established to date in other countries clearly indicate that the United States is implementing a reasonable program which is compliant with our trade obligations," they wrote.

The senators' letter was cheered by the U.S. Cattlemen's Association, whose president, Jon Wooster, issued a statement thanking the lawmakers for "championing the interests of cattle producers across the country."

Country-of-origin labeling, or COOL, was established by Congress in the 2002 farm bill and was expanded by lawmakers in 2008.

The rule covers muscle cuts and ground beef, lamb, chicken, goat and pork as well as wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, perishable commodities such as fruits and vegetables, and nuts.

The legislation sparked long-threatened complaints by Mexico and Canada to the WTO, which is assembling a panel to consider the nations' claims that the labeling rules unfairly hurt their cattle industries.

Mexico and Canada assert that discontinuing previous rules that allowed meat from imported cows raised and slaughtered in the U.S. to qualify as domestic amounted to a non-tariff trade barrier.

Vilsack and Kirk have countered that COOL is "a legitimate policy" that "provides information to consumers in a manner consistent with our World Trade Organization commitments."

The panel is not expected to issue a ruling until next year.