[h=1]US Beef Producers Warn of Labeling Rule Repercussions[/h]
JOC Staff | Jun 11, 2013 11:41AM EDT
Following the Canadian government’s disapproval of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling program and subsequent release of a list of products for possible retaliatory tariffs, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has slammed the labeling requirement.
“MCOOL is not market- or consumer-driven, and it does not fit within our international trading obligations,” said Scott George, president of the NCBA and a cattle and dairy producer in Cody, Wyo., in a written statement.
Canada’s list of products for possible retaliatory tariffs includes beef, pork and chicken, in addition to a wide range of grains fruits and dairy products.
“This list of products brings home the real-world consequences of the USDA’s adherence to MCOOL,” George continued. “Our members have warned both the USDA and members of Congress that should this program continue, there will be a true cost to not only cattle and pork producers, but to many other segments of the U.S. economy as well. This is too high a price to pay for a program that has proved it has no value.”
JOC Staff | Jun 11, 2013 11:41AM EDT
Following the Canadian government’s disapproval of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling program and subsequent release of a list of products for possible retaliatory tariffs, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has slammed the labeling requirement.
“MCOOL is not market- or consumer-driven, and it does not fit within our international trading obligations,” said Scott George, president of the NCBA and a cattle and dairy producer in Cody, Wyo., in a written statement.
Canada’s list of products for possible retaliatory tariffs includes beef, pork and chicken, in addition to a wide range of grains fruits and dairy products.
“This list of products brings home the real-world consequences of the USDA’s adherence to MCOOL,” George continued. “Our members have warned both the USDA and members of Congress that should this program continue, there will be a true cost to not only cattle and pork producers, but to many other segments of the U.S. economy as well. This is too high a price to pay for a program that has proved it has no value.”