The decision by the Appellate Body – which hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought by WTO members – upheld the compliance panel’s report. It rejected the US’ arguments against the panel’s findings under Article 2.1 of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement.
It also agreed that the US’ amended COOL measures increased the record-keeping burden for imported livestock, and maintained the panel’s conclusions regarding the potential for labelling inaccuracy.
The panel had also noted that between 57.7% and 66.7% of beef and between 83.5% and 84.1% of pork muscle cuts consumed in the US conveyed no consumer information on origin "despite imposing an upstream record-keeping burden on producers and processors that has a detrimental impact on competitive opportunities for imported livestock".
According to Philip Ellis, president of US organisation the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the next step is retaliation by Canada and Mexico. Canada has already released detailed targets for retaliatory tariffs by US state.
Ellis said: "We have long said that COOL is not just burdensome and costly to cattle producers, it is generally ignored by consumers and violates our international trade obligations.
"Now that the WTO has ruled for a fourth time that this rule discriminates against Canadian and Mexican livestock, the next step is retaliation by Canada and Mexico. Retaliation will irreparably harm our economy and our relationships with our top trading partners and send a signal to the world that the US doesn’t play by the rules. It is long past time that Congress repeal this broken regulation."
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) said it welcomed the judgement by the Appellate Body. Rick Bergmann, chair of the CPC, said: "This is the WTO’s final judgment and it is comprehensive and compelling. There is no wiggle room.
"The US has now lost four times. Congress must accept the reality and act as a responsible WTO member and a leading force for trade liberalisation."
Friends of the Earth, however, said the WTO’s ruling would deny consumers the right to know where their meat comes from. It added that Mike Conaway, Representative for Texas, and chair of the House Agriculture Committee, is expected to quickly introduce a bill to comply with the WTO ruling and roll back the COOL requirements for beef, pork and poultry.