Dive Brief:
- In a 38-6 vote, The House Agriculture Committee saw a majority in favor of repealing the COOL law.
- Two days before, the World Trade Organization also voted to repeal parts of the law, saying the labels would give the U.S. an unfair advantage over livestock from Canada and Mexico.
- The Obama administration failed to appease the WTO after making changes to the law following the WTO's previous repeal, so now, according to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Congress now has the power to fix the law where needed to prevent retaliation from Canada and Mexico.
Dive Insight:
COOL originally stemmed from farmers from the northern U.S. who compete with Canadian farmers and from groups who advocate for consumers' knowledge as to where their food comes from. But a large portion of the meat industry has spoken out against this legislation in federal court for years.