[Intl-tobacco] Essential Action Condemns USTR Pressure on Korea

[Robert Weissman]

For Immediate Release,		Contact: Robert Weissman, 202-387-8030
June 14, 2001

ESSENTIAL ACTION CONDEMNS USTR PRESSURE ON KOREAN TOBACCO REGULATION

"It is outrageous that the U.S. government is once again using its trade
and foreign policy machinery to advance the interests of the tobacco
merchants of death," said Robert Weissman, co-director of Essential
Action, a Ralph-Nader founded corporate accountability group that works on
international tobacco control issues. "When it comes to any matter
relating to tobacco, the U.S. trade bureaucrats' position should be: hands
off."

"The U.S. Trade Representative is up to its bad, old tricks, working on
behalf of Big Tobacco," said Weissman, commenting on news reports that the
U.S. Trade Representative has pressured South Korea not to raise tariffs
on imported cigarettes.

In the face of reported diplomatic pressure from the United States, South
Korea has backed down from plans to impose a 40 percent tariff on foreign
cigarettes.

"The likely result of the U.S. action will be to raise smoking rates in
Korea, especially among women and children, over what they would have
been. In other words, the United States is spreading preventable death and
disease."

The Reagan and Bush I administrations used trade pressure to force open
tobacco markets in East Asia to U.S. and other foreign tobacco companies.
The Clinton administration ceased using direct, bilateral pressure to open
markets. By informal policy and later required by law (an appropriations
amendment introduced by Representative Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and a
last-minute executive order), the Clinton administration did not challenge
countries' nondiscriminatory tobacco control measures. By informal policy,
it also did not challenge discriminatory measures. It did, however,
require China to dramatically lower tariffs on cigarettes as part of the
U.S.-China bilateral trade deal, a measure condemned by Essential Action
and many other tobacco control groups.

Numerous World Bank and other studies have shown that lowered cigarette
tariffs not only increases the market share of foreign cigarettes, but
boosts overall smoking rates.

"The Bush administration should recognize that it is playing not only with
people's lives, but with political fire," Weissman said. "If the
administration is going to use trade policy to advance the interests of
Big Tobacco, it is likely to find a new constituency -- tobacco control
and public health groups -- aggressively mobilizing in the broad coalition
against fast track."

For more on Essential Action's tobacco control program, see
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/index.html.