USTR Abandons Plan to Protect Tobacco Control Measures under TPP
for those of you who may not know the USTR is the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Michael Froman is President Obama's recently confirmed USTR, chief of that office. TTP is Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Academy of Pediatrics:
It is disappointing that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has retreated from a proposal to the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement that would have made it more difficult for tobacco companies to challenge domestic tobacco control measures under the terms of international trade agreements. The U.S. is negotiating the TPP with 11 other countries, with the next round of negotiations scheduled for August 23-30 in Brunei.
Previously, USTR in May 2012 had announced it would propose new language to the TPP that would have created a "safe harbor" protecting national tobacco control measures from being challenged under the agreement. USTR stated at the time that the proposal would "explicitly recognize the unique status of tobacco products from a health and regulatory perspective." Our organizations have urged – and continue to urge – USTR to move forward with this proposal and ensure nations can take effective action to reduce tobacco use, which is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S. and around the world.
Instead, USTR is abandoning this proposal and has announced that it will offer language explicitly reaffirming that tobacco control measures are included in a provision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that recognizes nations' authority to enact health and safety measures. This is the first time tobacco would be singled out as being included in the public health exception to the GATT. However, this language is far weaker than USTR's original proposal, would not cover lawsuits initiated by tobacco companies and would not provide nations that adopt strong tobacco control measures with the protection they need from tobacco industry challenges.
The new USTR proposal does not recognize tobacco as a uniquely harmful product or provide a safe harbor for nations to regulate in order to reduce tobacco use, as the initial proposal would have done. The new proposal states the obvious – that tobacco control measures involve public health – and then directs public health officials from the countries that are party to the trade agreement to consult each other before launching tobacco-related trade challenges.
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