US TROPICAL OIL LABELING PLAN SUFFERS DEFEAT
A proposal to require imported
tropical oils to be labeled as saturated fats suffered a narrow
and possibly debilitating defeat in the U.S. Senate.
    The Senate Agriculture Committee rejected the proposal by a
10-8 vote, virtually snuffing out U.S. soybean producers' hopes
the plan would be adopted this year.
    A similar proposal has made no headway in the House.
    Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) offered the proposal as an
amendment to a farm spending reduction package.
    "I don't see this as a trade issue. I see it as giving
American consumers the information they need," he said.
    Proponents of the measure, including the American Soybean
Association, have claimed palm, palm kernel and coconut oils
are high in saturated fat and can contribute to heart disease.
    The U.S. soybean industry believes labels indicating
tropical oils are high in saturated fats would discourage
consumption of the oils, imported primarily from Malaysia,
Indonesia and the Philippines.
    But Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) read a letter from U.S.
Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter, who said the proposal
"blatantly discriminates" against imports, would be impossible to
defend under international trade law and would harm relations
with the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
    Yeutter's letter also said Americans derive most of their
saturated fats from meat and dairy products and relatively
little from tropical oils.
    The committee voted largely along party lines, with three
Democrats joining seven Republicans to oppose the measure.
 Reuter
