Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
TPP a boon to big tobacco in the developing world
The dust-up over tobacco is also drawing broader attention from public health advocates and U.S. lawmakers who say it’s a crystal-clear example of why the trade deal should not give businesses the right to challenge countries’ laws at all. It ranks among the top complaints of Democrats whose opposition has already halted Obama’s trade agenda from advancing in Congress this year.
“All Americans should be concerned with ‘investor-state’ provisions in TPP that allow foreign corporations to mount trade challenges that weaken or dismantle public health or consumer protection laws,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said. “Nowhere is this threat clearer than with Big Tobacco and anti-smoking efforts, which is why TPP must explicitly prohibit trade challenges to anti-tobacco laws.”
Early in the deal’s negotiations, the United States was willing to give Malaysia something close to what it wanted, calling for a so-called safe harbor provision that protected anti-smoking rules. But under pressure from business groups and lawmakers, the Obama administration changed its mind in August.
“All Americans should be concerned with ‘investor-state’ provisions in TPP that allow foreign corporations to mount trade challenges that weaken or dismantle public health or consumer protection laws,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said. “Nowhere is this threat clearer than with Big Tobacco and anti-smoking efforts, which is why TPP must explicitly prohibit trade challenges to anti-tobacco laws.”
Early in the deal’s negotiations, the United States was willing to give Malaysia something close to what it wanted, calling for a so-called safe harbor provision that protected anti-smoking rules. But under pressure from business groups and lawmakers, the Obama administration changed its mind in August.
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=A2F93361-335D-48F1-B728-452C28A5F3AC