The United States must bring its mandatory country-of-origin meat labeling rules into compliance with an earlier World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling by May 23, 2013, according to a WTO decision this week. WTO ruled on June 29, 2012 that the U.S. country-of-origin labeling program unfairly discriminated against Canada and Mexico because it gave less favorable treatment to beef and pork imported from these countries than to U.S. meat. That decision gave the United States an unspecified amount of time to comply.
Mandatory country-of-origin labeling was established in the 2002 Farm Bill and was implemented in the 2008 Farm Bill. It covers a number of commodities, including beef, pork, chicken, lamb, goat, seafood, and other products. An official from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the United States will be in compliance by the May 2013 deadline.
