Yesterday, the World Trade Organization ruled that Mexico and Canada can impose $1.01 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products because of country-of-origin labeling rules on meat. WTO said the rules discriminate against Mexico and Canada.
Mabel Dobbs, a rancher from Weiser, Idaho, issued the following statement on behalf of WORC, the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils, and the Western Colorado Congress.
“This WTO decision is exactly why so many people opposed NAFTA 22 years ago and oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership today. Consumers are demanding more information about where and how their food is produced, and farmers and ranchers strongly support the country-of-origin labeling. Why should the U.S. have to pay tariffs for requiring these simple labels?
“It is time for Congress to represent and defend what American consumers and cattlemen overwhelmingly want and fought a decade to get by supporting COOL and reining in free trade agreements. Our elected representatives should refuse to weaken our domestic consumer right-to-know laws and reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would further erode U.S. sovereignty and grant more rights to international corporations.”