[Intl-tobacco] [Fwd: PUBLIC HEALTH, TOBACCO GROUPS SEEK SEATS ON ADVISORY COMMITTEES]

[robert weissman]

Inside US Trade

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*PUBLIC HEALTH, TOBACCO GROUPS SEEK SEATS ON ADVISORY COMMITTEES*

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*Date: May 13, 2005 *



A coalition of public health organizations and tobacco control groups
this month asked the U.S. Trade Representative for a seat at the table
in the committees that advise the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative on trade negotiations. The request was made in two
separate but similar May 2 letters sent by public health groups and
groups advocating tobacco controls, including the American Lung
Association and the American Cancer Society.



The failure to appoint public health officials runs afoul of legal
requirements that these committees be =93fairly balanced=94 in terms of the
views they express, according to the letter by the five groups
advocating tobacco control.



The views of the public health officials would balance those of business
and production agriculture now represented in these groups, the letters
said. Both also asked that the advisory committee proceedings be open to
the public and materials be available to the public.



=93It is important for Congress, the U.S. Trade Representative and the
Department of Commerce to receive information and guidance from the
public health and health care community on trade negotiations which
affect the public=92s health, and to benefit from a transparent public
debate,=94 the public health groups wrote in their letter to U.S. Trade
Representative Rob Portman and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.



They point out that there are no members of the advisory committees that
represent views focused on the impacts of international trade on public
health and health care, except for a representative from nursing on the
labor advisory committee. They are asking to be represented on six
technical advisory committees.



The public health groups=92 letter also points out that a 2002 report by
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that new stakeholders in
the trade policy process, including public health officials, have
limited participation in the federal advisory committees.



The letters mark the first time that public health groups have
coordinated their efforts to seek representation on the advisory
committees, even though individuals associated with public health
organizations have applied in the past year to be appointed, a public
health source said. Both groups are asking for a response to their
requests by June 1.



A U.S. trade official said that USTR is holding an internal meeting next
week to consider the request, including the issue of whether these
groups are entitled under existing U.S. law to be represented on these
committees. =93We seek balance in our advisory committees,=94 a trade
official said. The committees are chartered for two-year terms, but new
members can be appointed mid-term, he said.



The trade advisory committee system, set up by Congress in 1974 to
create an avenue for interested parties outside of the federal
government to provide input in international trade negotiations,
requires that committees =93be fairly balanced in terms of points of view
represented,=94 according to a 2002 GAO report.



Specifically, the tobacco control groups=92 letter to Portman and
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns asked for representation on the
Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee on Tobacco, Cotton, Peanuts
and Planting Seeds (TCPP ATAC). Tobacco control is now an international
issue as well as a domestic one, bound up with international trade flows
and international trade agreements, it said. There can be =93no question=94
of the committee=92s relevance to parties with an interest in tobacco
control, the letter said.



The public health groups are asking that representatives from their
organizations be appointed to at least six specific Industry Technical
Advisory Committees (ITAC): ITAC 4 on Consumer Goods and ITAC 5 on
Distribution Services, which deal with the trade and distribution of
tobacco, alcohol, processed food and pharmaceuticals; ITAC 8 on
Information and Communication Technologies, Services and Electronic
Commerce, which deals with information technologies and services
including those used to transmit medical data; ITAC 10 on Services and
Finance Industries, which deals with health-related services; ITAC 14 on
Customs Matters and Trade Facilitation, which deals with the movement of
goods, including tobacco, alcohol and firearms and the government=92s
ability to safeguard public health; and ITAC 15 on Intellectual Property
Rights, which deals with access and pricing for pharmaceuticals.



Public health organizations that signed the letter include the Center
for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health, the American College of
Preventive Medicine, the American Public Health Association, the
American Nurses Association, California Conference of Local Health
Officers, Doctors for Global Health, National Association of Community
Health Centers, Physicians for Human Rights and Physicians for Social
Responsibility.



The tobacco control letter was signed by the Action on Smoking and
Health, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, the
Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the Chinese Progressive Association,
Essential Action and the Framework Convention Alliance.