Issue 38, May 27, 2009
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice that the United States has received requests (as provided for under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization) from Canada and Mexico for consultations concerning certain mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL).
Canada and Mexico allege that the COOL provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill, which were implemented by a Department of Agriculture final rule published on Jan. 15, 2009, appear to be inconsistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 as well as certain provisions of the WTO agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Rules of Origin.
Copies of the requests may be found at www.wto.org contained in documents designated as WT/DS384/1/Add.1 for Canada and WT/DS386/1/ Add.1 for Mexico.
The USTR is inviting written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in these disputes.
Although USTR will accept any comments received during the course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be submitted on or before July 1, 2009, to be assured of timely consideration by USTR. Comments should be submitted electronically to www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2009-0004. If you are unable to provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, please contact Sandy McKinzy of the USTR at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. If (as explained below), the comment contains confidential information, then the comment should be submitted by fax only to Sandy McKinzy of the USTR at (202)395-3640.
Additional details on this topic may be found in the Federal Register notice at- http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-12004.htm
Regards,
Paul Vroman
Regulatory & Compliance Consultant
DHL Global Forwarding
