A World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body panel has issued a ruling declaring several aspects of the United States' Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements as they pertain to cattle and hog muscle cuts in violation of World Trade Organization rules.
Canada and Mexico alleged the laws discriminated against foreign trade in violation of multiple WTO agreements, in particular the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
WTO decision
In November 2011 the panel ruled that the COOL requirements violated the TBT Agreement by giving imported Canadian cattle and hogs and Mexican cattle less favorable treatment than domestic products in violation of the WTO's non-discrimination principle.
The panel ruled that COOL violated the TBT Agreement by creating "unnecessary obstacles to international trade". In this regard, the WTO Panel found that providing consumers with clear and accurate information on the origin of imported products is a "legitimate objective", but the U.S. failed to show that COOL in fact provided accurate and meaningful information on the origin of imported meat products and thus had not shown that COOL fulfilled a legitimate TBT objective. Accordingly, the Panel did not go on to address the further issue of whether the U.S. labeling requirements imposed "unnecessary obstacles" to international trade; and the panel held that the 2009 Vilsack letter violated the GATT because it was not a reasonable administration of the COOL requirements.
