Competition Issues

We’re fighting for Country of Origin Labeling

R-CALF USA’s Federal Trade Commission Comments Re: Made in USA Proposed Rule September 14, 2020

Mandatory Country of Origin Report 2020 Annual Convention Presentation by Mike Schultz, COOL Committee Chair August 21, 2020

Recent History of Failed Voluntary COOL Programs December 4, 2019

Summary Judgement on COOL June 5, 2018

Below are R-CALF USA’s and CPoW’s response/reply documents to the USDA’s opposition to our motion for summary judgement in our COOL lawsuit filed January 12, 2018

Dkt.-No.-26-FILED-Plfs.-Opp.-and-Reply..pdf

Dkt.-No.-27-FILED-Second-Declaration-of-Bill-Bullard.pdf

Dkt.-No.-27-1-FILED-Second-Declaration-of-Bill-Bullard-Ex.-A.pdf

Dkt.-No.-27-2-FILED-Second-Declaration-of-Bill-Bullard-Ex.-B.pdf

Dkt.-No.-27-3-FILED-Second-Declaration-of-Bill-Bullard-Ex.-C.pdf

Dkt.-No.-27-4-FILED-Second-Declaration-of-Bill-Bullard-Ex.-D.pdf

Dkt.-No.-27-5-FILED-Second-Declaration-of-Bill-Bullard-Ex.-E.pdf

Go to the link to sign the petition to Bring Back Country of Origin Labeling:  https://www.change.org/p/secretary-of-commerce-wilbur-l-ross-bring-back-country-of-origin-food-labeling October 10, 2017

R-CALF USA Letter to Senate Agriculture Committee February 29, 2016

R-CALF USA Letter to Donald Trump on COOL December 11, 2015

WTO COOL Arbitration Decision December 7, 2015

Letter to President Obama, et al., Don’t Capitulate to WTO on COOL December 3, 2015

Letter to President Obama, et al (PDF 186K) October 21, 2015

U.S. Cool Arbitration Filing (PDF 3.3MB) July 31, 2015

Coalition Letter Opposing COOL Repeal and Voluntary COOL (PDF 81K) July 28, 2015

Recent History of Voluntary COOL Programs (PDF 64K) June 22, 2015

Mexico Correction (PDF 21K) June 17, 2015

COOL Arbitration (PDF 17K) June 17, 2015

Coalition Letter Opposing COOL Repeal (PDF 72K) June 8, 2015

WTO COOL RULING May 18, 2015

150414 COOL Poster with OCM

R-CALF USA Letter to USDA Request for Correction of Information (PDF 296K) May 14, 2015
Attachment 1 USDA COOL Report 2015
Attachment 2 House Ag Committee Anti COOL News Release
Attachment 3 NCBA, AMI Motion for Injunction
Attachment 4 Exhibit 1 of NCBA, AMI Motion for Injunction
Attachment 5 KSU Article Mandatory COOL Still Detrimental to Trade
Attachment 6 Taylor and Tonsor Study
Attachment 7 Promotion of Anit COOL views
Attachment 8 Sparks Cover Letter and Study, 2003
Attachment 9 NCBA Commissioned Sparks Study, 2002
Attachment 10 Informa Study on GIPSA Rule, 2010
Attachment 11, Consumer Willingness to Pay for Cue Attributes, Schroeder
Attachment 12 Parcell study with study citations
Attachment 13 Food Demand Survey, 2014
Attachment 14 USDA, GIPSA COOL Investigation, 2010

R-CALF USA and others file to become interveners on Aug. 23, 2013. Click here to view a copy of the court documents.

R-CALF USA et al COOL Amicus Brief (PDF 338K) October 25, 2013

Proposed COOL Rule March 8, 2012

Donate to the COOL Lawsuit!

2012 COOL Lawsuit

R-CALF USA Urges Aggressive Appeal of WTO’s Anti-COOL Ruling: Part I of Multi-part COOL Series 

COOL as written in the 2002 Farm Bill

R-CALF USA Comments and Testimony

Federal and State Congressional Action

Studies

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R-CALF USA Comments to House Ag Subcommittee on Livestock re COOL (PDF 270K) March 23, 2015

Pro-COOL Coalition Letter on FY15 Appropriations Legislation (PDF 77K) December 2, 2014

Panel Rehearing Order – AMI  (PDF 52K) October 31, 2014

En Banc Rehearing Order – AMI (PDF 50K) October 31, 2014

Bipartisan, pro-COOL Senator Letter (PDF 655K) October 6, 2014

DC Circuit En Banc Decision on COOL (PDF 266K) July 29, 2014

Senate FY 2015 Anti-COOL Rider Joint Letter (PDF 60K) May 19, 2014

House FY 2015 Anti-COOL Rider Joint Letter (PDF 60K) May 19, 2014

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Decision on COOL (PDF 65K) Appeal March 28, 2014

Senate Letter to Farm Bill Conferees Regarding COOL (PDF 448K) January 24, 2014

98 Groups Send Letter to Farm Bill Conferees (PDF 14K) January 22, 2013

Industry COOL Letter (PDF 93K) October 29, 2013

NCBA and AMI Fight Against COOL Rule (PDF 168K) July 8, 2013

Prefiled Final COOL Rule (PDF 210 K) May 2013

R-CALF USA Comments To Proposed COOL Rule April 11, 2013

Exhibit 1 – February 11, 2013 LetterExhibit 2 – Amended COOL ComplaintExhibit 3 – Voluntary Dismissal of COOL Complaint
Exhibit 4 – Senate LetterExhibit 5 – Senate Letter to Sec. Vilsack Feb. 3, 09Exhibit 6 –
Exhibit 7 – R-CALF USA Comments to AMSExhibit 8 – University of Florida COOL StudyExhibit 9 – AMS Objects to COOL Before House Committee
Exhibit 10 – Final WTO COOL RulingExhibit 11 – COOL Cattle Producer LetterExhibit 12 – Letter to USTR and USDA Regarding COOL Strategies

COOL Coalition Letter April 2, 2013 (PDF 65K)

Proposed COOL Rule March 8, 2012 (PDF 62K)

Senate letter on COOL January 31, 2013 (PDF 858K)

Kansas State University (KSU) Factsheet November 13, 2012 (PDF 148K)

WTO Sets Deadline for U.S. COOL Compliance December 12, 2012 (PDF 298K)

Amended Lawsuit November 15, 2012 (PDF 138K)

R-CALF USA Joint COOL Lawsuit September 5, 2012 (PDF 132K)

R-CALF USA Letter To USTR and USDA regarding COOL Strategy August 22, 2012 (PDF 152 K)

Final World Trade Organization (WTO) COOL Ruling June 29, 2012 (PDF 1MB)

R-CALF USA Letter to U.S. Trade Representative – Appeal WTO’s COOL Ruling January 20, 2012 (PDF 463 K)

USDA OIG Implementation of Country of Origin Labling – Audit Report August 2011 (PDF 183K)

R-CALF USA’s Letter to USDA and USTR: COOL and Canadian Subsidies January 28, 2010 (PDF 75K)

CHART: Domestic vs Canadian Prices, 2008-2010 January 11, 2010 (PDF 8 K)

Letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from multiple Senators December 21, 2009 (637K)

R-CALF USA Thanks Secretary Vilsack and Trade Representative Kirk for blocking Mexico and Canada’s Complaints November 3, 2009 (PDF 51 K)

R-CALF USA’s letter to Sec. Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk and Members of Congress October 16, 2009 (PDF 309 K)

R-CALF USA’s letter to NCBA October 12, 2009 (PDF 268 K)

NCBA’s Statement Regarding COOL October 10, 2009 (PDF 46K)

Canada Requests WTO Panel on U.S. Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling October 7, 2009 (PDF 40K)

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk Comment on Canadian Panel Request Regarding Country-of-Origin Labeling October 7, 2009 (PDF 24K)

R-CALF USA’s letter to Secretary Vilsack with Trade Ambassador Correspondence Attached July 22, 2009 (438 K)

Senate letter to Secretary Vilsack February 3, 2009 (PDF 165K)

Senators Johnson and Enzi letter to Secretary Vilsack January 22, 2009 (PDF 183 K)

Response letter from Canadian Ambassador to U.S. Ambassador January 7, 2009 (PDF 175 K)

Letter from U.S. Ambassador to Canadian Ambassador January 7, 2009 (PDF 134 K)

R-CALF USA’s Comments to USTR on Canada and Mexico COOL Challenge July 1, 2009 (PDF 84K)

Coalition Letter asking USTR to Defend COOL March 13, 2009 (PDF 130K)

USTR Feb 17, 2009 Federal Register Notice posted March 13, 2009 (PDF 48K)

USDA’s letter to the Industry February 20, 2009 (PDF 27K)

COOL Letter from Senators Byron Dorgan, Russell Feingold, Kent Conrad, Amy Klobuchar, Ron Wyden, Jon Tester and Dianne Feinstein to Secretary Vilsack February 3, 2009 (PDF 165K)

COOL Letter from Senators Tim Johnson and Mike Enzi to Secretary Vilsack January 22, 2009 (PDF 184K)

R-CALF USA’s Letter to USDA; Urgent Priorities January 20, 2009 (PDF 55K)

Final COOL Rule, 2009-00600_PI January 12, 2009 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF 357 K)

Tyson’s Letter to Cattle Producers regarding COOL October 14, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 48K)

Producer Compliance with COOL October 3, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF 25K)

R-CALF USA’s Supplemental Comments on Interim Final Rule of COOL September 27, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat PDF 75 K)

R-CALF USA’s Comments on Interim Final Rule for COOL September 25, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat PDF 85 K)

Attachment A – R-CALF USA COOL Comments (Adobe PDF 1804 K)

COOL Senate letter to the Honorable Ed Schafer September 25, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat PDF 1010 K)

Easterday Ranches, Inc. Lawsuit Against USDA Regarding COOL September 22, 2008 (Adobe PDF 86K)

Senator Tester’s Letter to the USDA regarding COOL Concerns September 9, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF 42K)

Letter to Under Secretary Bruce Knight September 4, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF 18 K)

Final Affidavit Language September 3, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF 18K)

USDA-AMS Clarification on Livestock Producer Compliance with the COOL Interim Final Rule August 7, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF 82K)

Letter to the Office of Management and Budget from R-CALF USA, National Farmers Union (NFU), Consumer Federation of America (CFA), and Food & Water Watch (FWW) July 22, 2008 (Adobe Acrobat Reader 34 K)

2007 R-CALF USA COOL Fact Sheet (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 74K)

Letter to Senator Harkin from 31 Senators regarding COOL Language September 25, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader 876 K)

R-CALF USA Comments Regarding Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling for Beef, Lamb, Pork, Perishable Agricultural Commodities, and Peanuts August 20, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 121K)

R-CALF USA’s letter to House Agriculture Committee Members July 17, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 107K)

AMI’s Anti-COOL Ad in Roll Call June 21, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 424K)

AMI’s letter to Beef Producers June 21, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 17K)

AMI’s letter to Pork Producers June 21, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 18K)

R-CALF USA’s 2nd letter To AMI June 18, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 94K)

AMI response to R-CALF USA June 15, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 64K)

R-CALF USA response to AMI June 13, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 98K)

Letter from AMI to R-CALF USA regarding COOL June 13, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 52K)

R-CALF USA’s Second COOL Letter to Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Herb Kohl and response to AMI June 7, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 100K)

AMI’s Second COOL Letter to Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Herb Kohl June 5, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 104K)

COOL Letter to Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Herb Kohl, response to AMI

May 31, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 104K)

AMI’s Letter to Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Herb Kohl May 24, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 34K)

Coalition COOL Letter to Congresswoman DeLauro and Senator Kohl May 21, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 68K)

ACOL Letter to the House  February 28, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 40K)

ACOL Letter to the Senate  February 28, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 40K)

ACOL Supporting Editorials (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 23K)

Economic Impacts of the Interim Final Rule for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for Fish and Shellfish  February 26, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 353K)

Federal Register Notice of Reopening of Comment Period for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Fish and Shellfish  November 27, 2006 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 55K)

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) Letter to Sec. Johanns  August 4, 2006 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 139K)

R-CALF USA 2006 Position Paper:  Country of Origin Labeling for Beef

Guest opinion: Keep COOL meat labeling mandatory by Danni Beer, Billings Gazette, 08/14/05

ACOL Coalition of 142 Producer and Consumer Organization Urge Appropriations Conferees to Keep M-COOL  October 25, 2005 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 25K)

95 Organizations Ask Congress to Keep Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling  November 16, 2004

Separating Fiction from Truth: How the Voluntary COOL Bill will Impact the U.S. Cattle Industry  September 10, 2004 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 57K)

Coalition letter encourages Congress to support “The Sense of the Senate” October 9, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 57K)

Blueprint for Maximizing the Benefits of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling While Minimizing Costs to Producers and Unnecessary Government and Industry Regulation  September 5, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 153K)

Cattle Industry COOL Summit I & II

USDA COOL Listening Session in Sacramento, California – Statement by R-CALF USA, Presented by Bill Bullard, C.E.O.  June 12, 2003

Letter to USDHS, USDT, USDHHS, and USDA Requesting Removal of Livestock from “J-List”  May 23, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 116K)

USDA COOL Listening Session Comments by Jay Miller in Raleigh, NC  March 20, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 42K)

COOL Talking Points  April 17, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 79K)

View speeches from the April 10th COOL meeting in Springfield, MO with presentations by William Sessions of USDA-AMS, Bill Bullard of R-CALF USA, Patty Lovera of Public Citizen, and Food Marketing Institute  April 10, 2003 (Video requires Windows Media 7.1 or higher)

Americans for Country of Origin Labeling Joint Comments  April 9, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 147K)

Senators’ Comments on COOL  April 9, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 88K)

R-CALF USA Comments on AMS on COOL  April 9, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 166K)

Addendum to R-CALF USA’s Complaint to Donna Reifschneider  March 20, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 603K)

Producer Expectations for COOL by Jay Miller, R-CALF USA Marketing Committee Chair  March 20, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 272K)

R-CALF USA Files Complaint with Donna Reifschneider  March 5, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 102K)

R-CALF USA’s Comments to AMS on COOL  February 21, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 192K)

COOL:  Myths and Facts  February 5, 2003

Comments of R-CALF USA on the Issuance of Guidelines for Voluntary COOL  August 9, 2002

What You Can Do to Help Pass COOL  March 13, 2002

Americans for COOL Joint Letter  March 6, 2002

Cattle Associations in 27 States Sign Joint Letter in Support of COOL in Senate Farm Bill  December 2, 2001

R-CALF USA Submits Comments to FSIS Defining Labeling of U.S. Cattle and U.S. Fresh Beef Products  September 26, 2001


Congressional Action

FY 2005 House Ag Appropriations M-COOL Delay Vote June 8, 2005

California COOL February 2, 2005

Louisiana COOL 1999

Maine COOL 1999

Mississippi COOL 2002

Missouri COOL August 28, 2004

Montana COOL 2005

North Dakota COOL January 5, 1999

South Dakota COOL 1977

H.R. 384 January 26, 2005

S. 108 January 24, 2005

S. 135 To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to expand country of origin labeling for certain covered commodities, and for other purposes.  January 24, 2005

H.R. 4576 Goodlatte-Stenholm Voluntary COOL July 23, 2004

“Sense of the Senate” Voting Record, S.Amdt. 2078 to H.R. 2673 (Agriculture Appropriations FY 2004)  November 6, 2003

Rehberg-Hooley Voting Record, AMDT.226 to H.R.2673  July 14, 2003

COOL as written in the 2002 Farm Bill


Studies

USDA GIPSA Investigative Report February 5, 2009 (PDF 4 MB)

Country of Origin Labeling:  Opportunities for USDA and Industry to Implement Challenging Aspects of the New Law  United States General Accounting Office, August 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 4215K)

“Country of Origin Labeling: A Legal and Economic Analysis,” J. VanSickle, R. McEowen, N. Harl, R. Taylor and J. Connor  May 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 226K)

“County of Origin Labeling of Beef Products: U.S. Consumers’ Perceptions,” a survey and study by Colorado State University  March 20-21, 2003 (Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF File 29K)

“Food from Our Changing World: The Globalization of Food and How Americans Feel About It”  February 24, 2003