The Senate Agriculture Committee on Sept. 25 advanced a 2026 Farm Bill that would restore mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef sold in the United States, eleven years after Congress repealed the original requirement following a defeat at the World Trade Organization.

What does the bill require?

The legislation folds in provisions drawn from the American Beef Labeling Act. It directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to design a labeling system that complies with WTO rules.

Retail labels would identify three points in the cattle supply chain:

• Where each animal was born
• Where it was raised
• Where it was slaughtered

That three-step structure would force packers and retailers to track origin at every transfer point — a degree of traceability the current voluntary regime does not require.

Why was COOL repealed in 2015?

Congress repealed mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef in 2015 after a WTO dispute left the United States exposed to retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico. The new Senate language attempts to head off a repeat by requiring, on its face, a framework that the trade body can uphold.

The directive to USTR is the key safeguard. Any rule that fails WTO review would re-open the door to the same retaliation that prompted the original repeal.

Who supports the mandate, and who is fighting it?

Two industry groups back the federal requirement:

• R-CALF USA
• United States Cattlemen's Association

Supporters argue that consumers deserve clear information about the origin of the beef they buy and that mandatory labeling would help separate beef from cattle raised in the United States from imported supply.

Two other organizations oppose a federal mandate:

• National Cattlemen's Beef Association
• The Meat Institute

Opponents cite compliance expenses and warn of disruption within the beef supply chain if segregation rules force new record-keeping.

The split mirrors each side's commercial exposure. Groups built around domestic cow-calf producers tend to view origin labeling as a tool that could lift the price-discovery advantage of U.S.-born and -raised cattle. Groups representing the broader packing and retail sector must weigh those potential gains against the cost of building traceability systems and the risk of renewed retaliation from two of the largest live-cattle suppliers to the U.S. market.

What happens next?

The bill cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee but still requires approval from the full Senate. It would then face a House vote and require the president's signature before becoming law.

Whether USDA and USTR can produce a regime that passes WTO muster without softening the three-step labeling requirement will determine whether the cattle-industry coalition that has pushed for reinstatement since 2015 ultimately gets the standard it has demanded.