American Meat Institute calls newest COOL rule ‘reckless’
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
The American Meat Institute (AM) is speaking out strongly against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s final rule on its controversial country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rule. The institute says that no changes were made to the proposal despite industry opposition over additional costs that would be insured by companies and hurting trade ties with Canada and Mexico.
The Senior Vice President of AMI Mark Dopp, said that the new rule could harm American agriculture, noting that during the consultation progress, U.S. meat companies and livestock producers expressed their concerns over the proposal. “The decision to proceed with a rule that is more costly, complex and burdensome than the earlier version, when WTO and our trading partners have sent strong signals that this is no ‘fix,’ shows a reckless disregard for trade relations and for companies whose very survival is at risk because they rely upon imported livestock,” said Dopp.
Perhaps the most worrisome comment that Dopp mentioned is how the rule will likely prompt several meat companies to shut down due to the additional costs. The ramped up COOL regulations would not only impact the domestic meat industry says Dopp, but operations north and south of the boarders would be even more worse off. The institute says this move signals that the government is picking winners and losers.