The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock & Foreign Agriculture held a hearing Wednesday to examine the implications of potential retaliatory measures taken against the United States in response to meat labeling requirements under Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) addressed the hearing and expressed his hope that the members of the subcommittee would “recognize the failure of this experiment and work together to avoid the economic damages that could be felt by American businesses both inside and outside of agriculture.”

Among those who testified was National Pork Producers Council President Elect John Weber of Iowa who said they fully expect the WTO to once again rule against the United States in mid-May. “Congress must be prepared to repeal the offending parts of the statue to bring the U.S. into compliance with WTO rules,” said Weber. “Congress should not allow retaliation against pork producers and other sectors of the U.S. economy.”

In his testimony, California cattle ranch manager Mike Smith called COOL “failed experiment” and a “farce” that has cost the cattle industry money and he urged the committee to “repeal COOL before retaliation is implemented.”

Representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Wine Institute, and the National Confectioners Association all agreed with that basic sentiment on behalf of numerous industries that could be impacted by retaliation. Only National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson took the opposing view, urging the committee to wait for the WTO to rule on COOL, as Canada and Mexico cannot retaliate if no damages are found. “Congress should leave COOL alone and allow the WTO process to run its course,” said Johnson.