United States of America
Oral Statement
On October 7, 2009, Canada and Mexico requested the establishment of a panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to investigate mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements on beef and pork being established by the United States. The following is excerpted from executive summary of the opening oral statement of the United States at the First Substantive Meeting of the WTO dispute-resolution panel on September 14–16, 2011. Countries around the world have recognized that consumers desire — and have the right to know — the origin of the products they buy at the retail level. In fact, at…
