With new leadership in the government, the topic of country of origin for beef and pork is being raised once again. The requirement to report the country of origin on beef and pork was removed ten years ago when the USDA stopped enforcing the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef and pork after the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 was signed into law. A provision in that law amended a previous statute by removing beef and pork from the list of products that must carry a COOL label.
The US Congress responded to pressure from Canada and Mexico- the two countries that won multiple rounds of trade rulings against the United States over our COOL regulations for beef and pork. The World Trade Organization (WTO) had authorized retaliation for just over a billion dollars annually, but once Congress eliminated mandatory COOL for beef and pork, the two countries suspended their plans to retaliate against the US. More about that here.
In today’s BeefBuzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is featuring comments from a conversation at USDA Secretary of Agriculture Nominee Brooke Rollins’s confirmation hearing when US Senator John Thune of South Dakota – now the leader of the US Senate – brought up the issue.
“I have been a long-time supporter of mandatory country of origin labeling for beef products,” Thune said. “The system in which producers operate needs to be fair and transparent. I think it is critical that we take the steps to pass legislation tasking USDA or USDR to find a path forward on mandatory country of origin labeling.”
At her confirmation hearing, Majority Leader Thune questioned Rollins on whether she would actively assist in finding a WTO-compliant path toward mandatory country-of-origin labeling.
Rollins readily agreed and expressed hope that she would add value to the team that will work towards it.
Back in 2015, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was working under President Barack Obama. Under the threats from Mexico and Canada, Secretary Vilsack had to compel Congress to act in the opposite direction.
During the 2016 Commodity Classic, Hays was able to ask Secretary Vilsack whether there was a loophole to get COOL back into policy.
At that time, Vilsack said, “It is tough. We have process verification systems within the U.S. that allow certain labels to be affixed, and that may be a way to proceed that doesn’t necessarily get our Canadian and Mexican friends in a position where they want to come after us. It is a tough issue. It seems as if a customer wants to be able to buy all American, they ought to be able to do that, but Congress was obviously concerned about the retaliation, understandably so. We did our best to restructure the COOL rule so that it was compliant with WTO. Maybe the process verification system is the way to do it; we will see. I don’t know if Congress can get something done in that space, but if they do, we will obviously be cooperative and implement it as quickly as we can.”
Now, in 2025, Majority Leader Thune is seeking the same answers, and should she be confirmed, Rollins looks forward to helping him. The ever-challenging caveat is that the rule must be WTO-compliant to avoid retaliation from other countries.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
