<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><table width="600" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center" style="font-size:12.8px"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12px"><div align="right"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hl5a79nZA%2F7SjU%2FcEb%2B91BNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><img width="600" border="0" src="https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50429/images/cpath.png" alt="CPATH" class=""></a><br><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tlglr61cxKzENUWt3LVmsRNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank">About</a> | <a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4c2GkTPwCr5QJygRZOqD8hNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank">Donate</a></div></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12px"><p></p><p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=S6D29p1e%2FBYvh%2FWz0ywyaBNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:x-large"><b>TPP Caves to the Tobacco Industry, Threatens Public Health</b></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ellen R. Shaffer PhD MPH, Joseph E. Brenner MA, Co-Directors, CPATH </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="" tabindex="0"><span class="">November 5, 2015</span></span> <a href="tel:415-922-6204" value="+14159226204" target="_blank">415-922-6204</a><span dir="ltr"><img width="0" height="0" alt=""><a href="tel:415-922-6204" value="+14159226204" target="_blank">415-922-6204</a></span> <br><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">The vacuous “tobacco control” provision in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) virtually capitulates to the demands of multinational tobacco corporations, jeopardizing nations’ health and economic welfare. </span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FJ%2BIb7WE9fue9Q4W9K2pWas22pk62lW0" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">Public health and medical advocates in the U.S. and abroad consistently urged negotiators to exclude tobacco control protections </span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger">from trade challenges under the TPP. But tobacco industry opposition won the day, bolstered by corporate allies concerned that addressing the uniquely lethal effects of tobacco in trade agreements could set a precedent for reining in their own practices.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">Tobacco co<span style="letter-spacing:-0.1pt">m</span>panies increasingly turn to trade rul<span style="letter-spacing:-0.05pt">e</span>s to delay and defeat popular initiatives to prevent or end addiction to lethal tobacco products. Trade rules grant corporations the right to directly contest and possibly overturn nations' public health and other policies. Governments can similarly challenge each other’s tobacco control measures as trade violations. Countries that lose a trade challenge face stiff financial penalties, payable to the complaining corporation, or government.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"></p><span style="font-size:larger"><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><b><u>What The TPP Says</u></b></p></span></div><p><span style="font-size:larger"><b><u></u></b></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mhye3spVHpAp3Nbv%2BPdQaxNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">Chapter 29 of the TPP</span></a></span></span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8XAnqTWBNH3tt9FalA4esBNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"></a></span><span style="font-size:larger">, released today, states that any TPP nation has the right to “elect to deny” access to a trade dispute by corporations for “claims challenging a tobacco control measure”. The country could make this election before such a challenge is submitted to arbitration, or “during the proceedings.” If a country “elects to deny benefits with respect to such claims, any such claim shall be dismissed.”</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">Footnote 12 hastens to assert that governments retain the right to challenge each other’s tobacco control measures.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">Footnote 13 clarifies further that a “tobacco control measure” means a “measure of a Party related to the production or consumption of manufactured tobacco products (including products made or derived from tobacco), their distribution, labeling, packaging, advertising, marketing, promotion, sale, purchase, or use, as well as enforcement measures, such as inspection, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. [A] measure with respect to tobacco leaf that is not in the possession of a manufacturer of tobacco products or that is not part of a manufactured tobacco product is not a tobacco control measure.”</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"></p><p><span style="font-size:larger"></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><b><u>An Invitation to Political Racketeering, Declining Public Health</u></b></p><p></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">This "tobacco control" provision forces each TPP partner country to choose to exercise protection for tobacco control measures, instead of providing a guarantee under international law. It subjects public health in TPP partner nations to being whipsawed by the political whims and economic agendas of powerful industries, as the political inclinations of elected administrations change. One official speaking informally with CPATH stated that the U.S. does not “need” such an election, as the U.S. can afford to defend itself, and has “never lost such a claim.” In fact, the U.S. lost in the case of Indonesia’s trade challenge of a ban on clove cigarettes, and has lost trade challenges at the bilateral level, such as the internet gambling dispute. Defending against any trade dispute is costly.</span><span style="font-size:larger"><br></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">It is unclear what mechanism a country would exercise to activate this provision, or what recourse would be available to state and local officials or the public in the event of an unpopular decision at the federal/national level not to exercise the “election to deny” a tobacco-related trade challenge. </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">In addition, by requiring each country to take unilateral action to elect to deny the use of the TPP’s trade dispute mechanism, it leaves that country subject to charges that it is violating other agreements that include an investor-state dispute systems (ISDS), or violating WTO agreements. In fact, Australia currently faces trade charges at both the ISDS and WTO levels, due to anti-smoking graphics and health warnings on cigarette packages. Some officials and advocates have expressed caution about acknowledging that any of its tobacco control measures are in any way not compliant with trade rules.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">This provision is an ongoing open invitation to the global tobacco industry to sharpen its arrows to ensure that no country executes this option to safeguard public health and protect tobacco control measures. The TPP invites political racketeering and pernicious lobbying at every level of government to protect the prerogatives of the tobacco industry, in alliance with any and every other commercial enterprise that might conflict with public health protections.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">The alternative is to build on the international consensus that population health is paramount, and to set an international health standard as a first step, making it a violation of international law to pursue a trade challenge in the case of tobacco control measures.</span></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 6pt"></p><p><span style="font-size:larger"></span></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 6pt"><b>Tobacco use costs the U.S. far more in lives and health care expenses than tobacco farming or manufacturing contribute to the economy. </b></p><p></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt 0.25in"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="font-family:Symbol;color:rgb(0,112,192)">· </span>Tobacco use kills 1,200 Americans daily. Cigarette smoking is responsible for an estimated $193 billion in annual health-related economic losses in the U.S. (nearly </span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=qXelw6%2FfM%2FsO4or4txMjzhNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">$96 billion in direct medical costs and an additional $97 billion in lost productivity</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">).</span></span></p><p style="margin:0in 5.1pt 6pt 0.25in"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="font-family:Symbol;color:rgb(0,112,192)">· </span>In contrast, total tobacco exports generate 0.10<span style="letter-spacing:1.5pt"> </span>percent (one tenth of one percent) of total U.S. annual <span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">exports </span></span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QdIPpA1kJsvdSXCWPlwmnBNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">(.07% unmanufactured, and .03% manufactured</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger">)<span style="letter-spacing:0.6pt">.</span> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=14r9mvaU46DytufUGH2qDxNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">Tobacco manufacturing has declined exponentially in the U.S</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">.</span><span style="color:rgb(0,176,240)">,</span> and tobacco farming is also in decline, </span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=GNzaBEYAo2Aa2Q2ogLUMxBNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">due in part to U.S. programs intended to facilitate the transition to more sustainable crops</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">.</span></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt 0.25in"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="font-family:Symbol">· </span></span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ss0b4ANulO%2BovGzWd3A9%2FRNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">Exports of cigarettes and other U.S.-manufactured tobacco products dropped from $3.9 billion in 1999 to $488 million in 2011</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger">, as large U.S. manufacturers sold off their international businesses or formed subsidiaries located abroad. Ninety-eight percent of exported U.S. cigarettes go to 5 countries, </span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VbvHQpyz7iNksqMQMZBCGRNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">only one of which is a TPP partner (Japan).</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger"><sup> </sup>Lower tariffs would lower the price of tobacco products, resulting in cheaper prices and increased consumption and use, especially among younger people. For this reason, international health policy and U.S. law prohibit the U.S. from using trade agreements to promote the sale or export of tobacco products. Yet the U.S. proposes in the TPP to eliminate tariffs on tobacco products. Other TPP partners can reasonably object to encouraging the import of U.S. brand cigarettes. </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><span style="font-size:larger">Tobacco is the only legal consu<span style="letter-spacing:-0.1pt">m</span>er product<span style="letter-spacing:-0.05pt"> </span>that kills when used as intended. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, accounting for </span><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CYaa6cd72%2BKma8iOoWwnjBNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><span style="color:rgb(0,112,192)">6 million preventable deaths annually</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:larger">, and is a <span style="letter-spacing:-0.1pt">m</span>ajor contributor to the global pande<span style="letter-spacing:-0.1pt">m</span><span style="letter-spacing:0.05pt">i</span>c of non-com<span style="letter-spacing:-0.1pt">m</span>unicable diseases, including c<span style="letter-spacing:-0.05pt">h</span>ildhood <span style="letter-spacing:-0.1pt">m</span>orbidity and <span style="letter-spacing:-0.1pt">m</span>ortality. As a unique product, it must be treated differently from other products and services that are traded across borders.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt"><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=49umlg98HfwST7z3dGtZ0BNrJT%2B8IWxB" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:larger"><b>THE TPP TEXT IS NOW POSTED ONLINE.</b></span></a></p></td></tr></tbody></table>
<div><br></div></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Dr. Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD MPH</div><div dir="ltr">Asst. Clinical Professor, UCSF<br>Co-Director, Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health/CPATH<br>P.O. Box 29586<br>San Francisco, CA 94129-0586<br>Phone 415-922-6204<br><a href="http://www.cpath.org/" target="_blank">www.cpath.org</a><br><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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