The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing Thursday to discuss country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for meat, which requires that packages sold in the U.S. indicate the country, or countries, where animals were born, raised and slaughtered. “It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-COOL (and many are) or anti-COOL (and many are), you cannot ignore the fact that retaliation is imminent and we must avoid it,” Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) said in his opening statement. He was referring to the tariffs Canada and Mexico plan to place on U.S. goods after winning the final case before the World Trade Organization that the program is an unfair barrier to trade. Two weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal COOL for beef, pork and chicken, and eyes are now trained on the Senate. In her opening statement on Thursday, Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) added that “inaction from the Senate is not an option.” Five of the six witnesses appearing before the committee adamantly supported an immediate repeal of COOL, arguing that the $3.2 billion in potential retaliatory tariffs sought by Canada and Mexico would significantly harm the U.S. economy.
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