Approved in December, Congress’s end-of-the-year spending bill included a suspension of the country-of-origin labeling law (COOL). The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) praised lawmakers for repealing COOL, saying it headed off what would have likely been costly retaliation by Canada and Mexico.

“The World Trade Organization [WTO] recently approved annual retaliatory tariff amounts of $1.01 billion, $781 million from Canada and $227.76 million from Mexico, which could have been imposed on US exports if COOL were not repealed,” says AFFI Interim President Joseph Clayton.

In May 2015, the WTO found COOL requirements to be in violation of the United States’ international trade obligations due to Canadian and Mexican livestock being treated less favorably than domestic livestock.