New WTO Ruling on "Country of Origin Meat Labels" Proves Danger of NAFTA & Now the TPA/TPP
Last edited Mon May 18, 2015, 05:30 PM - Edit history (1)
Monday, May 18
WTO Ruling on Meat Labels Exemplifies Corporate Profits Trumping Democracy
'Country of origin labels' championed by consumer safety and animal welfare advocates were ruled as having a negative impact on large North American meat-packing companies
In a decision food safety and consumer advocates are calling a blow to animal welfare, environmental standards, and democracy, the World Trade Organization on Monday ruled that U.S. labels on packaged meat indicating where cows, chicken or other animals were born, raised and slaughtered are in violation of international trade pacts because they place foreign imports at an economic disadvantage.
The WTO ruling—which is final and not subject to further appeal—is a seen as victory for the U.S. meat-packing industry, which has characterized the "country of origin labels" (COOL) as burdensome and repeatedly challenged them in court. But the decision was decried by critics who say it highlights the far-reaching implications of so-called "free trade" deals which allow multinational corporations and business interests to challenge domestic regulations that threaten their bottom line.
In this case, the WTO challenge was brought by Mexico and Canada, on behalf of their respective meat industries, against the U.S. government for violations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by arguing the U.S. labeling regime negatively impacted their ability to compete in the lucrative American market.
"The president says 'we're making stuff up,' about trade deals undermining our consumer and environmental policies," said Lori Wallach of Public Citizen, "but today we have the latest WTO ruling against a popular U.S. consumer policy. Today’s WTO ruling, which effectively orders the U.S. government to stop providing consumers basic information about where their food comes from, offers a clear example of why so many Americans and members of Congress oppose the Fast Tracking of more so-called 'trade' pacts that threaten commonsense consumer safeguards."
According to the Canadian Press:
The Canadian government argued that it was actually a protectionist measure, designed to discourage imports of foreign meat while doing nothing to benefit food safety.
It blamed the measure for a drastic decline in Canadian meat exports to the U.S. in recent years, and had repeatedly warned that it would retaliate if successful at the WTO.
Though NAFTA was signed into law by President Bill Clinton nearly twenty years ago, the Obama administration is currently pushing two new trade deals— the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with European Union nations and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) with eleven Pacific Rim nations. [b[And even as Obama and other proponents of TPP and TTIP have repeatedly argued these new deals won’t have the power to overturn or circumvent U.S. laws and regulations, the labeling ruling offers a precise example of how the mechanisms contained within such deals can do exactly that.
As the Center for Food Safety noted:
Promoters of Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have consistently said that fears over potential negative impacts to food safety and other consumer safeguards are overblown. But this WTO ruling further demonstrates that consumer group concerns that trade agreements such as the TPP are indeed legitimate. The WTO case was adjudicated via a dispute resolution system allowing member nation-states to sue one another over domestic policies that are believed to inhibit trade. Alarmingly, TPP’s investor-state provision would go even a step further by allowing corporations to directly sue countries for policies they believe impede profits.[/i]
More at......
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/18/wto-ruling-meat-labels-exemplifies-corporate-profits-trumping-democracy
= new reply since forum marked as read
Yet some do not get it. 
