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Costa’s Legislation to Prevent Canadian and Mexican Trade Retaliations Passes House

June 10, 2015

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. Costa and Conaway's bill, H.R. 2393, the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) Amendments Act. This legislation, which passed on a strong bipartisan vote of 300 to 131, repeals mandatory COOL requirements for beef, pork, and chicken products, while leaving intact the requirement for all other covered commodities. Additionally, the COOL Act does not alter, in any way, current food safety inspection requirements.

"Today's passage of the COOL Amendments Act is a critical step towards ensuring that the United States is no longer burdened by a law that harms our economy and our nation's beef, pork, and poultry producers. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has time and again determined that the country of origin labeling rule for beef, pork, and poultry is unlawful and repealing this law is the only way we can stop devastating trade retaliations," said Rep. Jim Costa, Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee's Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee. "California exports billions of dollars of commodities and manufactured goods to Canada and Mexico, many of which are produced in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been estimated that the tariff retaliations will cost California's economy more than $1 billion, inflicting a harsh blow to our local economy."

Last month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) rejected, for a final time, the United States' appeal regarding COOL. As a result, numerous commodities, many of which are grown in California, face significant retaliation by Canada and Mexico. H.R. 2393 is a targeted response that will put the U.S. in compliance with its international trade obligations and stop trade retaliations by two of the nation's top export partners.

"The bottom line is that the U.S. cannot afford to face Canada and Mexico's trade retaliations. This issue, as stated by the Secretary of Agriculture, requires a legislative fix, and the COOL Amendments Act is that fix," said Costa. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to continue moving this legislation forward and repeal COOL."

Earlier today, Congressman Costa spoke on the House Floor regarding the COOL Amendments Act. The link to his speech is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXHb-l0Jpbc