Dive Brief:
- The House has voted to repeal country-of-origin labeling legislation by a 300-131 margin by passing the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015 late Wednesday night.
- Texas Republican Rep. Michael Conaway introduced the bill in May, and two days later the House Agriculture Committee passed the repeal.
- Proponents of the repeal noted that if the repeal did not go into effect, the U.S. could face $3.6 billions of dollars in tariffs from Canada and Mexico.
Dive Insight:
Opponents of the repeal pointed to consumers' preference for labeling that identifies what is in food and where that food comes from. As more consumers demand labeling of their foods, it will be interesting to see what will happen to consumers and U.S. livestock farmers should COOL be repealed in the future.