CALL YOUR SENATOR ASAP
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TO VOTE NO ON TRADE FAST TRACK
POLICY PRIMER AND TALKING POINTS BELOW.
WHAT IS THE TPP?
The TransPacific Partnership is a far reaching trade agreement that has been negotiated in secret. It gives foreign corporations the right to sue governments in private tribunals for the loss of future profits due to health and environmental regulations. It could undo everything we've achieved so far for clean air, clean power, and clean vehicles. It also threatens to severely restrict access to medications in low income countries and increase the cost of government funded health programs. The text has not been released to the public or to health officials or health policy experts. The content of leaked drafts raises serious concerns about the agreement's potential to harm public health.
(just click above and enter your zip)
TO VOTE NO ON TRADE FAST TRACK
POLICY PRIMER AND TALKING POINTS BELOW.
WHAT IS THE TPP?
The TransPacific Partnership is a far reaching trade agreement that has been negotiated in secret. It gives foreign corporations the right to sue governments in private tribunals for the loss of future profits due to health and environmental regulations. It could undo everything we've achieved so far for clean air, clean power, and clean vehicles. It also threatens to severely restrict access to medications in low income countries and increase the cost of government funded health programs. The text has not been released to the public or to health officials or health policy experts. The content of leaked drafts raises serious concerns about the agreement's potential to harm public health.
LOSS OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTIONS
The intellectual property and investor-state elements of the draft agreement are particularly troubling in their health implications. The investor-state dispute process weakens the sovereign right of governments to protect their citizens from health hazards by granting foreign corporations the right to challenge public health safeguards and demand compensation from taxpayers whenever such policy limits their “expected future profits”. (Flowers, 2014). These adverse consequences are not speculative. Similar provisions in existing trade agreements have already been used to challenge health warnings on tobacco products, reverse bans on toxic substances, prevent regulation of electric rates, avoid toxic cleanups, and allow substandard Mexican trucks on US highways. The TPP would markedly expand the scope and number of such extrajudicial attacks on public health and safety regulations (Public Citizen, 2015).
DECREASED ACCESS TO DRUGS AND MEDICAL DEVICES
The intellectual property provisions would decrease access to vaccines and medications by extending pharmaceutical company monopoly patents, hamper the release of generic equivalents, and decrease governments' ability to negotiate prices of drugs and medical devices for publicly funded programs (AmFAR, 2015; Marchbein, 2015).
A STEP BACKWARD FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
A health impact assessment by Australia's Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity found that the intellectual property provisions would decrease access to medications, resulting in an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. The Foundation for AIDS Research labels the IP drug provisions “unacceptable and dangerous” (amFAR, 2015). The Australian study also found that investor state limits on regulation of tobacco and alcohol and food labelling would lead to increases in cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, birth defects, trauma, obesity, diabetes, and sexually transmitted infections.(Hirono, 2015). Oxfam has called the TPP “a step backward for public health” (Burgos, 2015).
References are below talking points.
TALKING POINTS FOR CALL
1) TPP is dangerous for public health.
2) Takes away sovereign right of government to protect citizens
3) Decreases access to medications and raises cost of health care
4) Vote no on fast track
5) Make the TPP text public and allow time for review of public health implications
REFERENCES
amFAR, Trans-Pacific Partnership: Curbing Access to Medicines Now and in the Future, Foundation for AIDS Research Issue Brief, May 2015 http://www.amfar.org/uploadedFiles/_amfarorg/Articles/On_The_Hill/2015/IB_TPP_Brief_RC_050615.pdf
Burgos, S. Statement by Stephanie Burgos, Senior Policy Advisor and Economic Justice Policy Manager at Oxfam America to the expert panel on major outstanding TPP issues convened by Senator Brown and Representative Levin, May 12, 2015 http://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/tpp-to-undermine-access-to-medicines/
Flowers, M. Backgrounder on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and health care. Physicians for a Public Health Program http://www.pnhp.org/news/2014/august/backgrounder-on-the-trans-pacific-partnership-and-health-care
Hirono K, Haigh F, Gleeson D, Harris P and Thow, A M. Negotiating healthy trade in Australia: Health impact assessment of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Liverpool, NSW: Centre for Health Equity Training Research and Evaluation, part of the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, 2015.http://hiaconnect.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/TPP_HIA.pdf
Marchbein, D. The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Threat To Global Health? Health Affairs Blog
May 8, 2015 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2015/05/08/the-trans-pacific-partnership-a-threat-to-global-health/
Public Citizen, TABLE OF FOREIGN INVESTOR-STATE CASES AND CLAIMS UNDER NAFTA AND OTHER U.S. “TRADE” DEALS April 2015. http://www.citizen.org/documents/investor-state-chart.pdf
The intellectual property and investor-state elements of the draft agreement are particularly troubling in their health implications. The investor-state dispute process weakens the sovereign right of governments to protect their citizens from health hazards by granting foreign corporations the right to challenge public health safeguards and demand compensation from taxpayers whenever such policy limits their “expected future profits”. (Flowers, 2014). These adverse consequences are not speculative. Similar provisions in existing trade agreements have already been used to challenge health warnings on tobacco products, reverse bans on toxic substances, prevent regulation of electric rates, avoid toxic cleanups, and allow substandard Mexican trucks on US highways. The TPP would markedly expand the scope and number of such extrajudicial attacks on public health and safety regulations (Public Citizen, 2015).
DECREASED ACCESS TO DRUGS AND MEDICAL DEVICES
The intellectual property provisions would decrease access to vaccines and medications by extending pharmaceutical company monopoly patents, hamper the release of generic equivalents, and decrease governments' ability to negotiate prices of drugs and medical devices for publicly funded programs (AmFAR, 2015; Marchbein, 2015).
A STEP BACKWARD FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
A health impact assessment by Australia's Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity found that the intellectual property provisions would decrease access to medications, resulting in an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. The Foundation for AIDS Research labels the IP drug provisions “unacceptable and dangerous” (amFAR, 2015). The Australian study also found that investor state limits on regulation of tobacco and alcohol and food labelling would lead to increases in cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, birth defects, trauma, obesity, diabetes, and sexually transmitted infections.(Hirono, 2015). Oxfam has called the TPP “a step backward for public health” (Burgos, 2015).
References are below talking points.
TALKING POINTS FOR CALL
1) TPP is dangerous for public health.
2) Takes away sovereign right of government to protect citizens
3) Decreases access to medications and raises cost of health care
4) Vote no on fast track
5) Make the TPP text public and allow time for review of public health implications
REFERENCES
amFAR, Trans-Pacific Partnership: Curbing Access to Medicines Now and in the Future, Foundation for AIDS Research Issue Brief, May 2015 http://www.amfar.org/uploadedFiles/_amfarorg/Articles/On_The_Hill/2015/IB_TPP_Brief_RC_050615.pdf
Burgos, S. Statement by Stephanie Burgos, Senior Policy Advisor and Economic Justice Policy Manager at Oxfam America to the expert panel on major outstanding TPP issues convened by Senator Brown and Representative Levin, May 12, 2015 http://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/tpp-to-undermine-access-to-medicines/
Flowers, M. Backgrounder on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and health care. Physicians for a Public Health Program http://www.pnhp.org/news/2014/august/backgrounder-on-the-trans-pacific-partnership-and-health-care
Hirono K, Haigh F, Gleeson D, Harris P and Thow, A M. Negotiating healthy trade in Australia: Health impact assessment of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Liverpool, NSW: Centre for Health Equity Training Research and Evaluation, part of the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, 2015.http://hiaconnect.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/TPP_HIA.pdf
Marchbein, D. The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Threat To Global Health? Health Affairs Blog
May 8, 2015 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2015/05/08/the-trans-pacific-partnership-a-threat-to-global-health/
Public Citizen, TABLE OF FOREIGN INVESTOR-STATE CASES AND CLAIMS UNDER NAFTA AND OTHER U.S. “TRADE” DEALS April 2015. http://www.citizen.org/documents/investor-state-chart.pdf
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