A judge in Washington, D.C., now has to decide whether to
grant a temporary injunction sought by Canada, Mexico and several meat-industry
organizations in the United States.
The injunction would stop the government from implementing a
new set of regulations for mandatory County-of-Origin Labeling (MCOOL).
The World Trade Organization ruled that the previous U.S.
MCOOL regulations violated its trade obligations by discriminating against
imports, mainly beef and pork from Canada and Mexico.
The new regulations are even worse than the old ones, say
those who have filed the application for an injunction. The lawyers’ cases were
presented to the judge on Tuesday.
The court action was put forward by the
American Association of Meat Processors, American Meat Institute, Canadian
Cattlemen's Association, Canadian Pork Council, Confederacion Nacional de
Organizaciones Ganaderas, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork
Producers Council, North American Meat Association and Southwest Meat
Association.
This judge in the case, in U.S. District court in
Washington, D.C., did not indicate when he is likely to rule on the motion.
