Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) was brought up recently in the American House of Congress, as talks of approving the new NAFTA or US-Canada-Mexico Agreement continue.

COOL labeling has been brought to American Legislature and shot down by Congress and the World Trade Organization in the past.

Even the World Trade Organization thought COOL was unlawful and gave Canadian and Mexican Governments the authority to to impose over a billion dollars of punitive duties if the US didn't come into compliance or went out of compliance,which they would if COOL goes back into legislation.

It's because of that, that Dennis Laycraft with the Canadian Cattleman's Association says COOL laws likely won't stand up in Congress.

"There's a couple of groups that tend to represent a small number of producers, but make a lot of noise. That's R-Calf and the US Cattlemen who continue to push to get mandatory Country of Origin Labeling legislation pushed back in," Laycraft said. "You've got the mainstream industry and the majority of cattle producers represented through NCBA, the National Cattleman's Beef Association and you've got the processing industry that continue to oppose it, recognizing previously when it went in that it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and has no consumer benefit the way it was introduced."

COOL legislation would target meat producers in all three nations, says Laycraft.

"It would be targeted towards beef and pork and you see a small number of Democrats that have indicated they would like to see it in there."

Laycraft says despite recent rumblings of bringing COOL legislation back from the dead, it would cost American Producers too much money and hassle, so he doesn't expect anything to come from it.

"Our sense from what the main discussions down there that the real issues being discussed are congress trying to weigh out will they approve the US-Mexico-Canada agreement or not are certainly more suited towards pharmaceuticals, towards the environment and towards labour," Laycraft adds. "Certainly none of those have gone through the WTO and were found to be illegal under international trade rules so we've got a lot of allies South of the border who are working diligently to make sure that this doesn't find it's way into the legislative process."