U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labeling requirements violate the country's international trade obligations for many reasons, according to the American Meat Institute. In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, AMI calls on the United States to honor those obligations, just as all countries should.
In the letter, AMI Senior Vice President Mark Dopp said that equitable enforcement of international trade rules is a high priority for everyone and that all too often, market access for U.S. meat products has been threatened or cut off with little or no legitimate justification.
"American challenges to these actions have been based upon the rights provided under international trade agreements. These challenges will continue, as demonstrated by a recent limitation to an important market for beef. Critical to the US' ability to enforce successfully [WTO and NAFTA] obligations is consistency in U.S. behavior and actions," Dopp said. "In that regard, the US' credibility is undermined when U.S. legislation violates America's commitments pursuant to those international agreements.
Dopp contends that U.S. COOL requirements "are not consistent with U.S. obligations under both WTO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and NAFTA." COOL is inconsistent with trade agreements because of its discriminatory effect on imported meat and imported live animals, Dopp said.
