Costa Says Congress Must Act to Avoid Costly Trade Retaliations

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Jim Costa (CA-16) released the following statement after the World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration panel announced its final ruling that Canada and Mexico can impose retaliatory tariffs, totaling over $1 billion, on imported United States goods because of damages caused by the mandatory U.S. Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL) rule for beef and pork.

"If Congress does not act swiftly, the U.S will face over $1 billion in harsh trade retaliations by Canada and Mexico," said Rep. Costa."We must prevent the implementation of these retaliatory tariffs before irreparable damage is done to the agriculture and manufacturing industries and to the overall economy. American jobs and businesses would be threatened if these tariffs are implemented, especially in our San Joaquin Valley. Country-of-Origin-Labeling is a failed policy that has increased costs for ranchers and processors and is hurting the trade relationship with our top export partners, Canada and Mexico. I strongly urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to support the repeal of COOL as part of the spending legislation that the House is expected to pass in the coming days."

Earlier this year, Reps. Costa and Michael Conaway (TX-11) introduced H.R. 2393, the Country-of-Origin-Labeling Amendments Act of 2015, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation by a recorded vote of 300-131. H.R. 2393 repeals mandatory COOL requirements for beef, pork, and chicken products while leaving intact the requirement for all other covered commodities. The legislation does not alter current food safety inspection requirements.

Rep. Costa sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to include H.R. 2393 as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill.