The US Senate is expected to pass a new five-year farm bill today - a bill that does not make any changes to American country of origin meat labeling rules, also known as COOL.
The House approved the $956 billion farm bill last week, despite calls from the US National Cattlemen's Beef Association, other North American meat industry groups and the governments of Canada and Mexico demanding that the legislation include changes to COOL.
The World Trade Organization has said the meat labeling rules discriminate against Canadian cattle and pigs. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association and Canadian Pork Council had viewed the farm bill process as the best opportunity for bringing COOL into compliance with the Americans' WTO obligations.
The bill includes $8 billion in cuts to the Americans' food stamp program and no major changes to farm subsidy programs.
