Unpacking Facts in Country of Origin Labeling Dispute

AMARILLO, TX – R-CALF (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) launched a petition last month urging the President and Congress to immediately pass Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef, pork, and dairy products.

Mandatory labeling was signed into law under the 2002 Farm Bill, but World Trade Organization (WTO) challenges brought by Canada and Mexico in 2009 led to the elimination of mandatory labeling of U.S. beef products in 2015.

R-CALF argues that many American ranchers have no access to the marketplace because meatpackers continually source cheaper foreign cattle, leading to lower prices for producers. They allege that if MCOOL were in place today, consumers could immediately correct this situation by choosing to buy beef born, raised, and harvested in the United States.

Texas Cattle Feeders Association (TCFA) counters that any label should be market-driven, not mandated by the federal government and the government should not be involved in day-to-day business decisions. If reinstated, TCFA says Mexico and Canada have the right to immediately impose more than $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports, including a 100 percent tariff on U.S. beef. A voluntary, verified, COOL label would close any labeling loopholes that would allow foreign beef to bear a “Product of the USA” label without additional regulation, costs, or threat of trade-related retaliation.