Texas Cattle Feeders Association
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Events
  • News
  • Market
  • Policy

Voluntary COOL Benefits Producers and Consumers

5/7/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
There’s been a lot of talk recently about mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). Let’s set the record straight on a few things.

First, TCFA supports voluntary COOL. We know that U.S. beef is the best in the world in terms of quality, consistency and sustainability and we support a label that highlights those high standards.

However, that label should be market-driven, not mandated by the federal government.

Market-driven programs have proven to be effective, not only for the ranching and feeder families that are the very foundation of our nation’s beef supply, but also for consumers who enjoy high-quality, affordable, nutritious beef. One of the best examples in the history of beef production and marketing is Certified Angus Beef....a voluntary marketing label that has added millions and millions of dollars to the value of beef through increased demand for quality beef.

Mandatory COOL was federal law for 6.5 years, but that law ended up costing all U.S. cattle producers significantly with no measurable benefit to consumers. Let’s visit a few of the reasons mandatory COOL failed the first time.
​
  1. Mandatory COOL nearly ruined our trading relationship with Mexico and Canada. On four separate occasions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled mandatory COOL was discriminatory and violated international treaty obligations.
  2. Because of this, the WTO authorized Mexico and Canada to impose more than $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports, including a 100% tariff on U.S. beef in Mexico and Canada if the law was not repealed. In 2019, beef exports to Mexico and Canada added over $65 in value per animal. This added value would no longer exist had mandatory COOL not been repealed.
  3. Exports not only add value to our product, but they create jobs. USDA’s Economic Research Service reported that for every $1 billion in agricultural exports, 7,500 jobs were required. Simply put, mandatory COOL costs valuable American jobs.
  4. Tariffs imposed by Mexico and Canada would have translated into unnecessary higher prices for consumers and lower prices for producers. USDA cited in its report to Congress that the total economic harm to the U.S. beef industry would have been more than $8 billion over a ten-year period.
  5. There are no studies that document mandatory COOL increased prices of cattle for U.S. producers and several to the contrary identifying only increased costs to the U.S. beef system.
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Midland)​, Former Chair of the House Ag Committee, in June 2015 laying out how retaliatory tariffs in response to mandatory COOL would hurt U.S. agriculture. Congress ultimately repealed the law.
​Congress subsequently repealed mandatory COOL in 2015 three days before the tariffs were scheduled to go into effect because of the undue harm the law itself and potential retaliatory tariffs would cause U.S. producers and consumers. Even though Congress prevented WTO from placing tariffs on U.S. beef in 2015, the WTO case remains active. If, at any time, the U.S. implements a new mandatory COOL program, Canada and Mexico can immediately retaliate. They don’t need any additional approval from the WTO.

As we’ve learned time and time again, increasing the government’s involvement in our day-to-day operations with a mandatory label would prove disastrous and ineffective, even more so, during a time when the entire country, especially the cattle industry, is facing unprecedented and extraordinarily difficult times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
1 Comment

    Categories

    All
    Cattle Feeders Give Back
    COOL
    COVID 19
    Environment
    Events
    Fake Meat
    Feedyard People
    Feedyard Services
    Legislative
    Nutrition
    Resource Guide
    Trade
    Youth Events

    Archives

    March 2023
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019

About TCFA

Board of Directors
History
Staff

Get Involved

Events
TCFA Convention
Become a Member

Resources

Contact Us
TCFA Newsletter
Member Directory
Blog
© COPYRIGHT 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Events
  • News
  • Market
  • Policy