House to consider repeal of meat labeling law

Staff and wire report

WASHINGTON — A House committee is moving swiftly to get rid of labels on packages of meat that say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered — a rule pushed in the last decade by the members of Montana’s congressional delegation.

The House Agriculture Committee will consider a bill to repeal a “country of origin” labeling law for meat today — two days after the World Trade Organization ruled against parts of it. The labels tell consumers what countries the meat is from: for example, “born in Canada, raised and slaughtered in the United States,” or “born, raised and slaughtered in the United States.”

The WTO ruled Monday that the U.S. labels put Canadian and Mexican livestock at a disadvantage, rejecting a U.S. appeal after a similar WTO decision last year.

Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, now the U.S. ambassador to China, was one of the heaviest advocates for the rule, as was Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., and incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

“The World Trade Organization’s decision undermines consumers’ access to basic information and a bipartisan law that was approved by Congress,” Tester said this morning. “Folks deserve to know where their food comes from, and Montana producers deserve the ability to compete in a transparent market. I’m confident there is a way forward to provide meaningful information to consumers, and I will continue working to get there.”

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont, who won the election last fall to take Baucus’ spot in the Senate, also decried the WTO ruling.

“This ruling is disappointing and of significant concern,” Daines said this morning. “I will continue working closely with Montana producers as this process moves forward and work to identify the best path forward to promote U.S. beef, protect our producers, and ensure consumers have access to the information they need.”

Zinke had not responded to an emailed request for comment by press deadline this morning.

The Obama administration had already revised the labels once to try to comply with previous WTO rulings. Now that the revised labels have also been struck down, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has called on Congress to change the law to avoid retaliation — such as extra tariffs — from the two neighbor countries.

Supporters of the labels, including northern U.S. ranchers who compete with the Canadian cattle industry, and some consumer advocates, have called on the U.S. government to negotiate with Canada and Mexico to find labels acceptable to all countries. But many in the U.S. meat industry — including meat processors who buy animals from abroad — have called for a repeal of the law, which they have fought for years.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, R-Texas, and several of his colleagues on the committee introduced the bill Monday to repeal the labeling requirements for beef, pork and poultry. The bill would go beyond just the muscle cuts of red meat that were covered under the WTO case, also repealing country of origin labeling for poultry, ground beef and ground pork.

“This bill is a targeted response that will remove uncertainty, provide stability and bring us back into compliance,” Conaway said.

Canada and Mexico have also called on the United States to repeal the labeling rules, saying they will seek authorization from the WTO to take retaliatory measures against U.S. exports. The two countries have opposed the law because it causes their animals to be segregated from those of U.S. origin — a costly process that has forced some U.S. companies to stop buying exports.

Congress required the labels in 2002 and 2008 farm laws, mostly at the behest of the northern U.S. ranchers. The original labels were vaguer, saying a product was a “product of U.S.” or “product of U.S. and Canada.” WTO rejected those labels in 2012, and USDA tried again with the more specific labels a year later. The WTO rejected those revised rules last year, and the United States filed one last appeal, rejected Monday by the WTO.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas also has said he will move swiftly to respond to the WTO ruling, but has yet to introduce a bill.