Prominent health academics show that the Trans Pacific Partnership poses a risk to health in areas such as the provision of affordable medicines, tobacco, alcohol policies and nutritional labelling, reveals a report released last night in Australia.
Click here to read this on the PSI website
This report confirms Public Service International’s repeated warnings about the way trade agreements extend beyond simple trade matters and restrict government’s basic ability to provide quality public services and effectively regulate because of the way they prioritise the profits of foreign multinationals.
PSI’s Director of Policy, Daniel Bertossa said: “Governments have been negotiating this deal in secret for years but they still haven’t told us what’s in it. This report shows that we cannot trust governments and foreign multinationals to protect our health care and public services.
“At most, four of the 26 chapters in the TPP cover traditional trade matters. But it does contain the controversial Investor State Dispute Settlement clause that allowed Phillip Morris to sue the Australian Government for introducing legitimate anti-smoking public policy measures.” said Mr Bertossa.
“Governments must release the proposed text in full so people can see what is being agreed on their behalf.” he said.
For more information:
- See the report: "Negotiating Healthy Trade in Australia"
- See PSI's full Press Release
- See PSI's work on trade "No Trade in Public Services" and Trans Pacific Partnership
- Read the NSWNMA Press Release
- Read the Public Health Association Press Release