A key Democrat called Thursday for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade deal the U.S. is negotiating with 12 Pacific Rim countries, to include an exception stating that tobacco products would not have the same legal protections as other trade items under the agreement.
The statement by Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan was a warning to the White House, which is trying to wrap up the negotiations by November. President Obama has resisted calls to include explicit anti-tobacco language in the deal.
Levin is the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has oversight of tax policy, and has been a key congressional voice in past trade deals. Congress must ratify the deal.
The administration has been candid that it wants to get a trade pact through Congress well before the 2016 presidential election so it doesn’t become an issue in the race. TPP seeks to lower taxes on imported goods and other barriers to trade among the countries.
At a forum held by the Council on Foreign Relations, Levin said he mostly agreed with the argument that trade deals should not include carve-outs for particular products.
That was a slippery slope, he said, because if you include an exception for one product, then why not another? The whole point of trade deals was to level the playing field, he noted.
He then added: “I think tobacco is different.” The health problems the product creates put it in a different category, he said, and therefore a “carve-out” was in order.
Trade critics have cited concerns over the deal’s potential impact on U.S. tobacco regulations. Many fear the terms of the deal would allow corporations to legally challenge prohibitions on sales and limits on advertising.
“A number of recent international disputes have challenged tobacco measures including one against the U.S. clove cigarette ban,” Levin noted. “A more robust approach is needed in TPP.”
