A federal judge in Spokane has dismissed a lawsuit to reinstate country-of-origin labeling on beef and pork products from other countries.
U.S. District Court Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson agreed with ranchers in her Tuesday dismissal that the government’s decision has caused them financial harm. But she ultimately sided with the government, saying the legal clock had run out for the producers to challenge the underlying 1989 federal law, and that Congress had clearly intended to have the labeling end.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture halted country-of-origin labeling in 2016. Groups including the Cattle Producers of Washington filed suit last year after Congress passed a bill that called for the USDA to remove the country-of-origin labeling requirements. That action followed sanctions filed against the U.S. by the World Trade Organization based on complaints from officials in Mexico and Canada, who argued the country-of-origin labeling caused an unfair advantage to American producers over imported livestock.
Even though the lawsuit was dismissed, an attorney representing the plaintiffs said the trade organizations will continue efforts to restore the labeling. (AP, Spokesman-Review)
