U.S. Lawmakers Vote to Scrap Meat Labeling Laws

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to repeal meat labeling laws, which were widely backed by U.S. consumer groups, after Canada and Mexico threatened $3 billion in trade sanctions.
The House voted 300-131 to repeal country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules on beef, pork and poultry, after the World Trade Organization ruled they discriminated against imported meat.
The Senate must still approve the repeal. If the laws are not reversed, the U.S. faces costly retaliation from its closest trading partners, such as Canada and Mexico.
Some of the biggest U.S. food and beverage companies, including Pepsico Inc, Tyson Foods Inc, the U.S. arm of Nestlé, Coca-Cola Co, Anheuser-Busch [ABIXXB.UL] and Kraft Foods, wrote to lawmakers this week urging them to support the repeal.