Two House bills take differing approaches to restoring COOL for beef

House Agriculture commodity market subcommittee Chair Dusty Johnson (R-SD) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would institute World Trade Organization-compliant mandatory country of origin labeling for beef – in contrast with another recent House proposal that would disregard the WTO’s beef labeling ruling. Mexico and Canada in 2011 successfully challenged the U.S.’ COOL requirements for beef and pork at the WTO, contending the labeling laws instituted unfair recordkeeping and verification burdens on their economies. The WTO in late 2015 authorized...