[Intl-tobacco] US Representatives Cite Inclusion of Tobacco Product as as One Chief Reason to Oppose CAFTA

[Robert Weissman]

Congresswoman Lois Capps
23rd District of California
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca23_capps/pr050727_CAFTAtobacco.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shannon Lohrmann

July 27, 2005

Reps. Capps and Waxman Cite Inclusion of Tobacco Products as One Chief Reason to
Oppose CAFTA

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Lois Capps and Congressman Henry Waxman sent a
letter to Ambassador Robert Portman stating their opposition to the Central America
Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), citing the inclusion of tobacco products in the
agreement as a chief reason.
By including tobacco products in the CAFTA agreement, tobacco companies could
circumvent public health measures.  Smoking is the leading preventable cause of
death and disease in the world.  The very fact that tobacco products are so lethal,
even when they are consumed in a "normal" way, sets them apart from other products
in commerce, and requires that they be treated as an exception to ordinary trade
rules.

Congresswoman Capps is opposed to CAFTA for a number of reasons, in particular
because she doesn't want to spur greater efficiency in the production and
distribution of products that kill when used as intended.

"Under CAFTA, common sense public health measures to combat one of the world's
leading causes of preventable death -- smoking -- could be found to violate trade
rules," Capps said.  "Big Tobacco would like nothing more than to stop effective
anti-smoking efforts: mandatory health warnings, plain packaging rules and
advertising regulations.  CAFTA would help companies sell more of their products,
leading to more illness and death around the world.  America should be leading the
way on reducing tobacco use, not paving the way for citizens of poor countries to
be the next victims of big tobacco."

"Trade agreements should promote prosperity and the well-being of consumers, not
the export of death and disease," Waxman said.  "By expanding trade in tobacco,
CAFTA will have serious public health consequences."

A copy of the letter follows:

July 26, 2005


Ambassador Robert Portman
United States Trade Representative
600 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC  20508

Dear Ambassador Portman:

We are writing to express our opposition to the Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) and to specify that one of our chief reasons for opposing it is
the inclusion of tobacco products.
Tobacco is a unique commodity, killing millions of people around the globe each
year.  The lethal nature of tobacco products sets them apart from other products in
commerce and requires that they be treated as an exception to ordinary trade rules.
Trade agreements are supposed to benefit consumers by spurring competition and
reducing prices for beneficial products such as wheat, computers and auto parts.
While increased trade may offer a range of benefits for importers and exporters
alike, those benefits do not apply to tobacco products. There is nothing desirable
about achieving greater efficiency in the production and distribution of products
that kill when used as intended.   Reducing tariffs on cigarettes and other tobacco
products, or removing public health measures that may run afoul of trade agreement
rules on non-tariff barriers, will result in increased smoking rates and needless,
preventable death and disease.

Trade agreements should recognize that tobacco products are uniquely harmful and
require special rules similar to those that already apply to trade in other
hazardous products, such as hazardous wastes, small arms, landmines, narcotic
drugs, ozone-depleting chemicals and persistent organic pollutants.   Tobacco
products were excluded from the tariff schedules in the U.S.-Jordan and
U.S.-Vietnam free trade agreements, negotiated under the Clinton Administration.
This administration has done an about face, including tobacco products in the
U.S.-Chile agreement at the behest of Philip Morris.  This unfortunate turn of
events should not be repeated.
CAFTA and all other trade agreements should be crafted to ensure that they do not
undermine life-saving tobacco control measures.  This can be achieved by providing
a specific exclusion of tobacco products from CAFTA and from all other agreements.

Sincerely,

LOIS CAPPS                                              HENRY WAXMAN
Member of Congress                                      Member of Congress

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