OTTAWA—Canada has requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) to form a dispute-settlement panel to resolve a dispute over the U.S.'s mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law, which requires firms to track and notify customers of the country of origin of meat and other agricultural products at each major stage of production, including retail.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the request for a panel was made after two rounds of WTO consultations with the United States did not resolve the dispute. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Canadian farmers and ranchers are facing "unfair discrimination" because of the law, adding that Canada is confident it will succeed in the WTO challenge.