Canadian cows and Mexican pigs allegedly discriminated against in the U.S.

By Catherine Kent

Last week, Mexico and Canada prevailed on their complaint before the WTO, which found that the U.S. labeling laws for meat have failed to comply fully with international fair trading rules. The U.S.’s challenged program – “Country of Origin Labeling” or “COOL” – requires that grocery stores and other meat retailers list where the meat was born, raised, and slaughtered on the label. The Canadian government maintains that this labeling law has resulted in fewer Canadian pigs and cattle being exported to the U.S. since 2009.

If the U.S.’s revised labeling rules are not approved by the WTO’s Appellate Body, the U.S. may face some serious trade sanctions from the two disgruntled countries. U.S. pork producers want the law fixed quickly to avoid any “financially devastating” retaliation from two of the U.S.’s largest trading partners; beef producers in the U.S. would like to eliminate the law altogether. Read more about these developments at Reuters.