MARCH 2016
THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP:
AGRICULTURE, FARMING, AND FOOD SECURITY
Canadian Farmers Protest against the Trans-Pacific Partnership
outside the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa
DR MATTHEW RIMMER
PROFESSOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION LAW
FACULTY OF LAW
QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Queensland University of Technology
2 George Street GPO Box 2434
Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia
1
Executive Summary
There are a large number of Chapters in the Trans-Pacific Partnership dealing with
agriculture, food security, farming, and plant intellectual property. As a result, it is a complex equation, assessing the benefits and costs for the sector under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The traditional provisions upon market access in respect of agricultural markets have
received a mixed response.
The United States Department of Agriculture has argued that the deal will result in the
elimination of tariffs:
Under the TPP agreement, most tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports will be eliminated. For Japan, once
the TPP agreement is implemented, over 50 percent of U.S. farm product exports (by value) will
receive duty-free treatment immediately. These products include grapes, strawberries, walnuts,
almonds, raisins, sweet corn, lactose, certain fruit juices, and most pet foods. Canada will eliminate its
tariffs on whey and margarine. Vietnam will eliminate tariffs on over 90 percent of current U.S. trade
in five years or less. Malaysia will immediately eliminate tariffs on over 90 percent of current U.S.
trade. New Zealand will immediately eliminate tariffs on nearly 80% of current U.S. trade, and Brunei
will do the same for all U.S. trade.
The United States Department of Agriculture argues: ‘For some products, preferential market
access will be provided through the creation of TRQs, which provide access for a specified
quantity of imports at a preferential tariff rate, generally zero’. It notes: ‘Japan will provide
access through TRQs for rice, wheat and wheat products, barley and barley products, malt,
whey, milk powder, butter, evaporated milk, condensed milk, vegetables, sugar-containing
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products, glucose, fructose, starch, corn & potato starch, and inulin’. It observes: ‘Canada will provide access through TRQs for dairy, poultry and egg products’. In addition, ‘Malaysia
will provide access through TRQs for fluid milk, poultry and eggs’, and ‘the United States will provide access through TRQs for sugar and dairy products.’ Moreover, there will be limited safeguards to help farmers adjust to potential import surges.
However, the agreement has not necessarily won favour with all quarters of the farming sector in the United States. The National Farmers Union senior vice president Chandler
Goule: ‘It's very obvious after reading through the text that this is another cookie cutter free
trade agreement’. President Roger Johnson testified before the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC) and warned that TPP will ultimately disappoint rural America because it
is modelled after the failed agreements of the past. He commented:
Unfortunately for this nation, when it comes to these enormous trade deals, the list of promises is quite
long but the list of actual deliverables is often very short. Instead of helping curb the U.S. trade deficit,
agreements like the TPP are actually making it worse.” Collectively, these massive trade deals have
done immense damage to the economy, draining economic growth and jobs from American families.
That is why the primary goal of these trade pacts should be to achieve an overall balance of trade, and
on that standard, these deals are failing.
Johnson also warned that the Trans-Pacific Partnership and previous trade deals fall
woefully short on enforcement tools to prevent foreign governments from cheating the
system to give their businesses unfair competitive advantages – through measures such as currency manipulation.
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In Australia, there has been debate over whether the Trans-Pacific Partnership provides for
comprehensive market access in respect of agriculture. The Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade argues that the deal will be of great benefit to Australian agriculture:
Australia exported around $16 billion worth of agricultural goods to TPP countries in 2014-15,
representing close to 35 per cent of Australia’s total exports of these products. The TPP will
eliminate tariffs on more than $4.3 billion of Australia’s dutiable exports of agricultural goods to
TPP countries upon entry into force of the Agreement. A further $2.1 billion of Australia’s dutiable
exports will receive significant preferential access through new quotas and tariff reductions.
However, there has been a lack of independent economic analysis of such claims about the
trade benefits to agriculture of the agreement. There has been concern about protectionism
by certain countries in certain fields. The United States protectionism in respect of sugar has
been a sore point in the Trans-Pacific Partnership – much as it was with the Australia-United
States Free Trade Agreement.
Likewise, New Zealand has argued that the agreement will benefit its local agriculture. There
has been some debate, though, about how New Zealand will fare against its rivals and
competitors.
In Canada, there were dramatic protests by dairy farmers over the Trans-Pacific Partnership,
with tractors and cows encircling the Canadian Parliament. Stephen Harper’s Conservative
Government promised a large compensation package to dairy farmers. Justin Trudeau’s New
Liberal Government is engaging in consultations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Obviously agriculture will be a sensitive issue.
4
Professor Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa has considered the Trans-Pacific
Partnership and agriculture. He noted, ‘The agricultural sector is often pointed to as a likely winner with the expectation that more open markets will result in Canadian farmers selling more beef, pork, canola, and other products.’ Geist observed: ‘Those predictions may prove true, but based on what the Standing Committee on International Trade has heard, there are many other agricultural sectors that stand to lose as a result of the deal.’ Geist commented:
The dairy industry is the most obvious sector that projects losses in the billions of dollars. Indeed, the
Conservative government promised billions of taxpayer dollars as compensation for those losses. When
the dairy industry appeared before the committee, it made it clear that it expects the Liberal government
to honour the same payout, arguing that the compensation – which amounts to $150,000 per dairy
farmer – is part of the agreement (even if not actually part of the TPP text). In fact, the compensation
extends to other supply managed sectors such as the chicken industry, which is also projecting losses
due to the TPP (and CETA). In all, these various sectors expect $2.4 billion from an income guarantee
program, $1.5 billion from quota-value guarantee program, $450 million for a processor modernization
program, and $15 million for a market development initiative.
Geist observed: ‘In other sectors, the impact of the TPP is modest at best’. He stressed: ‘For
example, the Canadian Vintners’ Association appeared before the committee to discuss the
impact on the Canadian wine industry. With low tariffs already in place in several TPP
countries, the impact will be modest unless Vietnam suddenly starts drinking a lot of
Canadian wine.’
Even more so, in Japan, there has been a fierce debate as to how the Trans-Pacific
Partnership will affect agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership also contains a Chapter – Chapter 7 – which deals with
sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. It promotes the development and application of
SPS measures in a risk-based, scientifically sound manner, while ensuring that regulatory
agencies in the United States and other TPP member countries are able to protect food safety
and plant and animal health. There has been much controversy in this area in respect of the
topic of food safety. From an Australian perspective, there was a significant scare in respect
of Nanna’s Berries, which had been sourced from China: see the Australian Department of
Health, http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/ohp-hep-a-fact-sheet-
consumers-frozen-berry.htm
The Intellectual Property Chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership addresses a number of
forms of plant intellectual property – including plant breeders’ rights, plant patents,
geographical indications, and data protection in respect of agricultural chemicals. There has
been insightful work on this topic by Hannah Brennan and Burcu Kilic. See Hannah Brennan
and Burcu Kilic, ‘Freeing Trade at the Expense of Local Crop Markets? A Look at the Trans-
Pacific Partnership’s New Plant Related Intellectual Property Rights from a Human Rights
Perspective’, Harvard Human Rights Journal, April
2015, http://harvardhrj.com/2015/04/freeing-trade-at-the-expense-of-local-crop-markets-a-
look-at-the-trans-pacific-partnerships-new-plant-related-intellectual-property-rights-from-a-
human-rights-perspective/
The Investment Chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership raises a number of concerns about
the regulation of food. There has been a particular interest in the impact of investor-state dispute settlement on various food labelling initiatives. Esther Han, the consumer rights journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, has noted concerns amongst consumer advocates
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about how investor clauses with affect food labelling initiatives – such as laws that require
food companies to list ingredients, country of origin statements, and health and nutritional
information on food packaging: Esther Han, ‘Food labelling and product safety laws in
jeopardy under TPP says Choice’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 March
2016, http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/food-labelling-and-product-
safety-laws-in-jeopardy-under-tpp-says-choice-20160310-gnfss6
In my research, I have looked at the multi-faceted battle over GM food labelling. This
submission draws upon published research: Matthew Rimmer, 'Just Label It: Consumer
Rights, GM Food Labelling, and International Trade', in Charles Lawson and Berris
Charnley (ed.), Intellectual Property and Genetically Modified Organisms: A Convergence in Laws, Farnham (Surrey): Ashgate Publishing, March 2015, 143-184.
There have also been some larger issues in respect of labor rights and farming.
The then United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier de Schutter and
Kaitlin Cordes have raised concerns about the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on
the right to food. They have analysed how the agreement will affect agriculture, farming,
and food security. They are particularly concerned about how the agreement will operate in
respect of developing countries.
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Recommendation 1
There is a need for a proper comprehensive assessment of the economic impacts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in respect of farming, agriculture, and food security.
Recommendation 2
The Intellectual Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership raises significant issues for agriculture – with text on plant breeders’ rights, patents, trade marks, geographical indications, and data protection for agricultural chemicals.
Recommendation 3
The Investment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will raise major issues in respect of agriculture, farming, and food security. The UNCTAD ISDS
Navigator reveals that there have been 14 disputes over crop and animal production; 8 disputes over forestry and logging; and 4 disputes in respect of fishing and aquaculture as at March 2016. In addition, there has been 25 disputes over the manufacture of food products, and several conflicts over beverages.
Recommendation 4
There has been significant concern as to how the Trans-Pacific Partnership will impact upon public regulation in respect of food labelling. There has been significant conflict in respect of GM food labelling, country of origin, nutrition
8 labelling such as with Health Stars, and palm oil labelling. Moreover, there has been significant trade disputes over eco-labels – such as the dispute between
Mexico and the United States of America over the Dolphin-Safe Ecolabel.
Recommendation 5
The Trans-Pacific Partnership also contains a Chapter which deals with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. It is worthwhile considering how the trade agreement will affect the regulation of food safety across the Pacific Rim.
Recommendation 6
The Trans-Pacific Partnership should be the subject of a human rights assessment
– particularly in respect of the right to food.
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Biography
Dr Matthew Rimmer is a Professor in Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the Faculty of Law, at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He is a leader of the QUT
Intellectual Property and Innovation Law research program, and a member of the QUT
Digital Media Research Centre (QUT DMRC) the QUT Australian Centre for Health Law
Research (QUT ACHLR), and the QUT International Law and Global Governance Research
Program. Rimmer has published widely on copyright law and information technology, patent law and biotechnology, access to medicines, plain packaging of tobacco products, intellectual property and climate change, and Indigenous Intellectual Property. He is currently working on research on intellectual property, the creative industries, and 3D printing; intellectual property and public health; and intellectual property and trade, looking at the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and the Trade in Services
Agreement. His work is archived at SSRN Abstracts and Bepress Selected Works.
Dr Matthew Rimmer holds a BA (Hons) and a University Medal in literature (1995), and a
LLB (Hons) (1997) from the Australian National University. He received a PhD in law from the University of New South Wales for his dissertation on The Pirate Bazaar: The Social Life of Copyright Law (1998-2001). Dr Matthew Rimmer was a lecturer, senior lecturer, and an associate professor at the ANU College of Law, and a research fellow and an associate director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) (2001 to
2015). He was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, working on Intellectual
Property and Climate Change from 2011 to 2015. He was a member of the ANU Climate
Change Institute.
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Rimmer is the author of Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution: Hands off my iPod (Edward Elgar, 2007). With a focus on recent US copyright law, the book charts the consumer rebellion against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (US) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US). Rimmer explores the significance of key judicial rulings and considers legal controversies over new technologies, such as the iPod,
TiVo, Sony Playstation II, Google Book Search, and peer-to-peer networks. The book also highlights cultural developments, such as the emergence of digital sampling and mash-ups, the construction of the BBC Creative Archive, and the evolution of the Creative Commons.
Rimmer has also participated in a number of policy debates over Film Directors’ copyright, the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, the Copyright Amendment Act 2006
(Cth), the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has been an advocate for Fair IT Pricing in Australia.
Rimmer is the author of Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological
Inventions (Edward Elgar, 2008). This book documents and evaluates the dramatic expansion of intellectual property law to accommodate various forms of biotechnology from micro- organisms, plants, and animals to human genes and stem cells. It makes a unique theoretical contribution to the controversial public debate over the commercialisation of biological inventions. Rimmer also edited the thematic issue of Law in Context, entitled Patent Law and
Biological Inventions (Federation Press, 2006). Rimmer was also a chief investigator in an
Australian Research Council Discovery Project, “Gene Patents In Australia: Options For
Reform” (2003-2005), an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, “The Protection of
Botanical Inventions (2003), and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project,
“Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia” (2009-2011). Rimmer has participated in inquiries into plant breeders’ rights, gene patents, and access to genetic resources.
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Rimmer is a co-editor of a collection on access to medicines entitled Incentives for Global
Public Health: Patent Law and Access to Essential Medicines (Cambridge University Press,
2010) with Professor Kim Rubenstein and Professor Thomas Pogge. The work considers the intersection between international law, public law, and intellectual property law, and highlights a number of new policy alternatives – such as medical innovation prizes, the
Health Impact Fund, patent pools, open source drug discovery, and the philanthropic work of the (Red) Campaign, the Gates Foundation, and the Clinton Foundation. Rimmer is also a co- editor of Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies: The New Biology (Edward Elgar,
2012).
Rimmer is a researcher and commentator on the topic of intellectual property, public health, and tobacco control. He has undertaken research on trade mark law and the plain packaging of tobacco products, and given evidence to an Australian parliamentary inquiry on the topic.
Rimmer is the author of a monograph, Intellectual Property and Climate Change: Inventing
Clean Technologies (Edward Elgar, September 2011). This book charts the patent landscapes and legal conflicts emerging in a range of fields of innovation – including renewable forms of energy, such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal energy; as well as biofuels, green chemistry, green vehicles, energy efficiency, and smart grids. As well as reviewing key international treaties, this book provides a detailed analysis of current trends in patent policy and administration in key nation states, and offers clear recommendations for law reform. It considers such options as technology transfer, compulsory licensing, public sector licensing, and patent pools; and analyses the development of Climate Innovation Centres, the Eco-
Patent Commons, and environmental prizes, such as the L-Prize, the H-Prize, and the X-
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Prizes. Rimmer is currently working on a manuscript, looking at green branding, trade mark law, and environmental activism.
Rimmer has also a research interest in intellectual property and traditional knowledge. He has written about the misappropriation of Indigenous art, the right of resale, Indigenous performers’ rights, authenticity marks, biopiracy, and population genetics. Rimmer is the editor of the collection, Indigenous Intellectual Property: A Handbook of Contemporary
Research (Edward Elgar, 2015).
Rimmer has supervised four students who have completed Higher Degree Research on the topics, Secret Business and Business Secrets: The Hindmarsh Island Affair, Information Law, and the Public Sphere (2007); Intellectual Property and Applied Philosophy(2010); The
Pharmacy of the Developing World: Indian Patent Law and Access to Essential
Medicines (2012); and Marine Bioprospecting: International Law, Indonesia and Sustainable
Development (2014). He has also supervised sixty-seven Honours students, Summer
Research Scholars, and Interns, and two graduate research unit Masters students.
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Just Label It: Consumer Rights, GM Food Labelling,
and International Trade (2015)
Matthew Rimmer
1. Introduction
In the United States, there has been fierce debate over state, federal and international efforts
to engage in genetically modified food labelling (GM food labelling).
A grassroots coalition of consumers, environmentalists, organic farmers, and the food
movement has pushed for law reform in respect of GM food labelling. The Just Label It
campaign has encouraged United States consumers to send comments to the United States
Food and Drug Administration to label genetically modified foods.1
This Chapter explores the various justifications made in respect of genetically modified food labelling. There has been a considerable effort to portray the issue of GM food labelling as one of consumer rights as part of ‘the right to know’. There has been a significant battle amongst farmers over GM food labelling – with organic farmers and biotechnology companies, fighting for precedence. There has also been a significant discussion about the use of GM food labelling as a form of environmental legislation. The prescriptions in GM food labelling regulations may serve to promote eco-labelling, and deter greenwashing.2
There has been a significant debate over whether GM food labelling may serve to regulate
corporations – particularly from the food, agriculture, and biotechnology industries. There are
1 Just Label It, http://www.justlabelit.org
2 Lane, E., 2011, Clean Tech Intellectual Property: Eco-Marks, Green Patents, and Green Innovation,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
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significant issues about the interaction between intellectual property laws – particularly in
respect of trade mark law and consumer protection – and regulatory proposals focused upon
biotechnology. There has been a lack of international harmonization in respect of GM food
labelling. As such, there has been a major use of comparative arguments about regulator
models in respect of food labelling. There has also been a discussion about international law,
particularly with the emergence of sweeping regional trade proposals, such as the Trans-
Pacific Partnership, and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
This Chapter considers the United States debates over genetically modified food labelling – at state, federal, and international levels. The battles often involved the use of citizen-initiated referenda. The policy conflicts have been policy-centric disputes – pitting organic farmers, consumers, and environmentalists against the food industry and biotechnology industry. Such battles have raised questions about consumer rights, public health, freedom of speech, and corporate rights. The disputes highlighted larger issues about lobbying, fund-raising, and political influence. The role of money in United States has been a prominent concern of Lawrence Lessig in his recent academic and policy work with the group, Rootstrikers.3 Part 1 considers the debate in California over Proposition 37. Part 2
explores other key state initiatives in respect of GM food labelling. Part 3 examines the
Federal debate in the United States over GM food labelling. Part 4 explores whether regional
trade agreements – such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – will impact upon initiatives in respect of genetically
modified food labelling.
3 Lessig, L. 2011, Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress and a Plan to Stop It, Twelve Books,
2011; Lessig, L. 2012, One Way Forward: The Outsider’s Guide to Fixing the Republic, eBook, 2012; and
Lessig, L. 2013, Lesterland: The Corruption of Congress and How to End It, TED Books, April 2013.
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2. Proposition 37: The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act
In 2012 there was an intense debate in California over Proposition 37.4 Proposition 37
would require the labelling of food sold to consumers made from plants or animals with
genetic material changed in specified ways. Proposition 37 would also prohibit the marketing
of such food, or other processed food, as ‘natural’. The regime has a number of exceptions
and limitations – including foods that are:
certified organic; unintentionally produced with genetically engineered material; made from animals fed
or injected with genetically engineered material but not genetically engineered themselves; processed
with or containing only small amounts of genetically engineered ingredients; administered for treatment
of medical conditions; sold for immediate consumption such as in a restaurant; or alcoholic beverages.5
The advocates of Proposition 376 argue that the measure would ‘give us the right to
know what is in the food we eat and feed to our families’;7 require labelling of food produced
4 California General Election, Proposition 37. [Online]. Available at: http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2012/general/propositions/37/ [accessed: 29 March 2014].
5 Attorney General, Proposition 37: Genetically Engineered Foods. Labeling. Initiative Statute.
[Online]. Available at: http://repository.uchastings.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2315&context=ca_ballot_props [accessed: 2 April
2014].
6 See California Right to Know – Label Genetically Engineered Foods. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.carighttoknow.org/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
7 California General Election, Proposition 37. [Online]. Available at:
http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2012/general/propositions/37/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
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using genetic engineering, so we can choose whether to buy those products or not’;8 because
‘we have a right to know’. 9 The advocates of the measure maintained:
Fifty countries around the world – representing more than 40 per cent of the world’s population – already
require GMO labelling, including all of Europe, Japan, India and China. Polls show that more than 90 per
cent of Americans want to know if their food is genetically engineered. We are free to choose what we
want to eat and feed our children. The free market is supposed to provide consumers with accurate
information about products so we can make informed choices.10
To support its proposition, the ‘Yes’ Campaign enlisted a number of celebrities to
provide endorsements in an advertising campaign. An all-star cast of Hollywood actors appeared in a piece on the ‘Right to Know’.11 The actor and comedian Danny DeVito led the
piece, asking the question: ‘What makes you think you have the right to know?’12 He joked:
‘lnowing if you're eating or buying genetically engineered food is not your right’.13 This
montage also featured spokespersons Bill Maher, Dave Matthews, Jillian Michaels, Emily
Deschanel, John Cho, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, KaDee Strickland and Kristin Bauer
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 California Right to Know. Facts – Yes on Prop 37. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.carighttoknow.org/facts [accessed: 2 April 2014].
11 Gates, S, 2012. California Prop 37: Danny DeVito, Dave Matthews and other celebs ask voters to approve mandatory GMO labelling. The Huffington Post, 9 October 2012. [Online]. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/california-prop-37-video-celebrities_n_1952203.html [accessed: 2
April 2014].
12 Food and Water Watch. 2012. Right to know: Vote yes on Prop 37, YouTube, 8 October 2012.
[Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB1xHFwSYIg [accessed: 2 April 2014].
13 Ibid.
17 van Straten. The video featured the affirmation – ‘Demand that GMO’s are labelled’. This witty video was designed to garner support for Proposition 37 by the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch.14
Marisa Tomei and other celebrities appeared in a video, emphasizing that GM food labelling would not increase grocery costs.15 Another video entitled ‘I’m a Mom’ – featured celebrities like Molly Ringwald, attesting ‘I’m a Mom: if you label it, then I’ll Know’.16
James Franco also fronted a video, encouraging Californian voters to vote ‘Yes’.17 In another video, James Franco appeared in a blindfold, observing, ‘Right now, you are eating food with a blindfold on … because companies do not have to tell you whether the food has been genetically modified’.18
14 Gates, above n 10.
15 Food and Water Watch. 2012. Grocery costs: Vote yes on Pro 37, YouTube, 2 November 2012.
[Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i7V3q2HDQLI
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
16 Food and Water Watch. 2012. I’m a mom: Vote yes on Prop 37, YouTube, 2 November 2012. [Online].
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7XcAcFTjm0g [accessed: 2 April
2014].
17 Food and Water Watch. 2012. Grocery costs, featuring James Franco: Vote Yes on Prop 37, YouTube,
2 November 2012. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pxeWHvJJS54 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
18 Food and Water Watch. 2012. Blindfold: Vote Yes on Prop 37, YouTube, 2 November 2012. [Online].
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MFAii2gGdjg [accessed: 2 April
2014].
18
Stacy Malkan, an advocate for environmental health, was a spokesperson for the Yes
on the 37 California Right to Know Campaign.19 She commented:
Proposition 37 is very simple. It’s about our right to know what’s in the food we’re eating and feeding
our families. It’s about our right to decide if we want to eat food that’s been fundamentally altered at
the genetic level, by companies like Monsanto, to contain bacteria, viruses or foreign genes that have
never been in the food system before. And genetic engineering has been hidden from American
consumers for two decades. Sixty-one other countries require labelling laws, but we haven’t been able
to get labelling here because of the enormous influence of Monsanto and the chemical companies..20
Malkan maintained that the proposal was supported by leading environmental, labor,
and consumer groups in California. Malkan argued that the opponents of GM labelling were
running an astroturfed, faux populist campaign against Proposition 37: ‘On the other side are
the world’s largest pesticide and junk food companies, who are spending $40 million carpet-
bombing California with a campaign of deception and trickery, with lie after lie in the ads that are going unchallenged in the media’.21
Writing in The New York Times, Michael Pollan wondered whether the push for GM food labelling was part of a larger food movement.22 He commented that the battle over
Proposition 37 raised larger issues about ‘Big Food’ and the industrial production of food:
19 Goodman, A. 2012. Food Fight: Debating Prop 37, California’s Landmark Initiative to Label GMO
Food. Democracy Now, 24 October 2012. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/24/food_fight_debating_prop_37_californias [accessed: 2 April 2014].
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Pollan, M. 2012. Vote for the dinner party. The New York Times, 10 October 2012. [Online]. Available
at: http://www nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/why-californias-proposition-37-should-matter-to-anyone- who-cares-about-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
19
What is at stake this time around is not just the fate of genetically modified crops but the public’s
confidence in the industrial food chain. That system is being challenged on a great many fronts –
indeed, seemingly everywhere but in Washington. Around the country, dozens of proposals to tax and
regulate soda have put the beverage industry on the defensive, forcing it to play a very expensive (and
thus far successful) game of Whac-A-Mole. The meat industry is getting it from all sides: animal rights
advocates seeking to expose its brutality; public-health advocates campaigning against antibiotics in
animal feed; environmentalists highlighting factory farming’s contribution to climate change.
Pollan noted: ‘The industry is happy to boast about genetically engineered crops in the elite precincts of the op-ed and business pages – as a technology needed to feed the world, combat climate change, solve Africa’s problems, etc. – but still would rather not mention it to the consumers who actually eat the stuff’.23 He observed that such a lack of transparency was contradictory maintaining that ‘the fight over labelling GM food is not foremost about food safety or environmental harm, legitimate though these questions are’.24 He stressed: ‘The fight is about the power of Big Food’.25 Pollan observed that:
Monsanto has become the symbol of everything people dislike about industrial agriculture: corporate
control of the regulatory process; lack of transparency (for consumers) and lack of choice (for farmers);
an intensifying rain of pesticides on ever-expanding monocultures; and the monopolization of seeds,
which is to say, of the genetic resources on which all of humanity depends.26
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid.
26 Ibid.
20
The opponents of the measure argue that ‘Proposition 37 is a deceptive, deeply flawed
food labelling scheme, full of special-interest exemptions and loopholes’.27 The opponents
allege that the regime would ‘create new government bureaucracy costing taxpayers millions,
authorize expensive shakedown lawsuits against farmers and small businesses, and increase
family grocery bills by hundreds of dollars per year’. 28
Dr David Zilberman, a Professor of Agriculture from the University of California,
Berkeley, was a champion for the No Campaign to Proposition 37.29 He observed: ‘Of course
I am for people’s right to know, but in the same way that you can label G-modified food, you
can also label non-G-modified food’.30 He noted: ‘Today, if you don’t really want G-
modified food, you can buy organic, and there are also voluntary labelling of non-G-modified
food’ and contended that ‘in every food system, you have some element of a mainstream
food, things that are not being labelled’.31 Zilberman observed that the proposition was
costly, badly drafted, and based on the wrong promise and denied accusations of corporate
influence.32 He maintained: ‘Almost all the food that we eat is genetically modified’.33
Zilberman makes arguments, both about the quality of the scheme, and its impact upon
business.
27 California General Election, Proposition 37. [Online]. Available at:
http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2012/general/propositions/37/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
28 Ibid.
29 Democracy Now. Food fight: Debating Prop 37, California’s landmark initiative to label GMO food.
[Online]. Available at: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/24/food_fight_debating_prop_37_californias
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid.
21
Beyond the clear advocates and opponents there was some disquiet in the debate over
the participation of food companies and biotechnology companies. The Just Label It movement complained:
Transparency is our right. Yet a handful of companies, such as Monsanto, Kraft, Kellogg’s and General
Mills, have gotten away with hiding important information about our food for more than two decades…
For these companies, a defeat of labelling supports their interests, not the consumers. The Grocery
Manufacturers Association (GMA) – Big Food’s national lobby group – called defeating Prop 37 ‘the
single highest priority for GMA’ in 2012, and has already poured millions into defeating Washington
State’s initiative. While claiming their products are safe and that biotechnology is beneficial, they are
emptying their pockets to fight a simple label.34
The Just Label It movement maintained: ‘Polling shows overwhelming public support
for labelling of genetically engineered foods, yet the same food and chemical companies
continue to ignore consumers fight [for] our right to know every chance they get’.35 The
group lamented: ‘This will continue to be a David versus Goliath battle, an unequal fight
between the American consumer and corporate money’36 and argued: ‘It’s time to call out
these companies, and demand that [they] support the consumer’s right to transparency’.37
Support for Proposition 37 faded as the Californian Election approached. In October
2012 a poll by the California Business Roundtable and the Pepperdine University School of
Public Policy showed 39.1% of likely voters supported the measure, while 50.5% opposed
34 Just Label It, Labeling opponents: Who are the companies fighting our right to know? [Online].
Available at: http://justlabelit.org/right-to-know/labeling-opponents/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid.
37 Ibid.
22
the labelling requirement.38 The poll reported that undecided voters represented 10.5% of
respondents. At the election on 6 November 2012 there were 6,088,714 votes in favour –
48.59% of the votes cast – and 6,442,371 votes against – 51.45% of the votes cast.39
Leon Kaye argued that the outcome highlighted the need to reform California’s initiative process: ‘Whatever your opinion is on Proposition 37 … one issue is clear:
California’s ballot initiative process is in desperate need of reform’.40 He observed: ‘The
collapse of support for Proposition 37 is a textbook case of how opponents of such a measure
can find success by funding a negative campaign that confuses and jades voters’.41 Kaye was
concerned that the opponents of Proposition 37 relied heavily on out-of-state money:
‘Californians’ have got to find a way to limit the influence of companies whose operations
are based outside of the state’.42 And lamented: ‘The decision should be made by debate and
analysis of the facts; not a $45.6 million effort generated to buy an electoral outcome’.43 In a
38 Lifsher, M. 2012. Proposition 37 losing in late Business Roundtable-Pepperdine poll. The Los Angeles
Times, 30 October 2012. [Online]. Available at: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/30/business/la-fi-mo-37-
losing-in-poll-20121030 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
39 California Proposition 37, Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food,
http://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_37,_Mandatory_Labeling_of_Genetically_Engineered_Food_%28
2012%29
40 Kaye, L. 2012. Near death of Proposition 37 proves California’s initiative process needs reform. Triple
Pundit, 6 November 2012. [Online]. Available at: http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/11/death-proposition-37- proves-californias-initiative-process-reform/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
23
fall op-ed supporting GMO labels New York Times food writer Mark Bittman wrote, ‘as goes
California, so goes the nation’.44
In 2013 there was discussion of whether there will be further legislative initiatives in
California. The Center for Food Safety commented:
Disinformation won the day, but it did not change the facts about what California voters think of GE
food labelling. This poll shows that the more the truth about Proposition 37 was received by voters, the
more they voted for it. It’s a certainty that once the money-induced cloud of doubt was lifted, many
Californians viewed labelling of GE foods as the smart choice.45
The survey noted: ‘While the state’s hotly contested GE food labelling initiative was defeated
by less than a 3 per cent margin, a full 67 per cent of voters continue to support the labelling
of GE foods’.46 The Center for Food Safety highlighted the role of opponents of Proposition
37 – including Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, PepsiCo, and Kraft.47
44 Bittman, M. 2012. GMO’s: Let’s label’em. The New York Times, 15 September 2012. [Online].
Available at: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/g-m-o-s-lets-label-
em/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
45 Center for Food Safety. 2013. ‘Post-Proposition 37 poll shows strong public support for future GE food
labelling.’ 9 January 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-
releases/781/post-prop-37-poll-shows-strong-public-support-for-future-ge-food-labeling [accessed: 2 April
2014].
46 Ibid.
47 Ibid.
24
More recently in 2014 Senator Noreen Evans has been agitating for law reform,
putting forward new legislation, requiring GMO labelling in California.48 The Senate Bill
1381 is being pitched as a simpler version of the unsuccessful Proposition 37.49
2. State Battles over GM Food Labelling
In addition to the landmark proposition in California, there have been a range of
initiatives in other states50 including grassroots movements to improve the oversight of GM
food.51 It is worth highlighting the debates in Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, Washington, and
Colorado. Such jurisdictions have been at the forefront of efforts for law reform in this field.
A number of conservative states – like Texas – remain resistant to proposals in respect of GM
food labelling.52
48 Moore, D. 2014. Evans’ GMO food-labelling clears state Senate Committee. The Press Democrat, 26
March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140326/articles/140329630
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
49 Flynn, D. 2014. GE labelling resurrected in California, Petition for ballot measure circulating in
Colorado. Food Safety News, 25 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/03/gm-labeling-resurrected-in-california-petition-circulating-for- initiative-in-colorado/#.UzO4gxAXL-k [accessed: 2 April 2014].
50 Center for Food Safety. 2013. State labelling initiatives. [Online]. Available at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/976/ge-food-labeling/state-labeling-initiatives# [accessed: 2 April
2014].
51 See Right to Know GMO. Map. [Online]. Available at: http://www.righttoknow-gmo.org/states
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
52 Ahmed, A. 2014. The push to label genetically modified products. The New York Times, 22 March
2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/us/the-push-to-label-genetically-modified- products.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
25
2.1 Connecticut
In June 2013 Connecticut was the first state to pass legislation on GM food labelling –
with the caveat that the legislation would only come into effect when four other neighbouring
states passed similar bills. Representative Republican John Shaban reflected upon the
initiative:
The House and Senate recently passed the ‘GMO Bill’ that will require the labelling of food containing
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) once neighbouring states adopt similar provisions. GMOs are
introduced into the genetic code of certain crops to promote particular characteristics such as a resistance
to certain pesticides. The bill was prompted by the national debate regarding the potential health effects
of ingesting GMOs … The bill makes Connecticut the leader on this effort, and should create the spark
needed to effect a regional or national labelling model driven by both government and market
participants.53
The Governor Dannel Malloy agreed that he would sign the bill into law – after reaching an agreement with the legislature that the law would not take effect unless four other states passed similar regulations.54 He commented: ‘This bill strikes an important balance by
ensuring the consumers’ right to know what is in their food while shielding our small
businesses from liability that could leave them at a competitive disadvantage’.55 The
53 Shaban, J. 2013. Passage of GMO labelling legislation. 5 June 2013. [Online]. Available at:
https://cthousegop.com/2013/06/rep-shaban-on-passage-of-gmo-labeling-legislation/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
54 Stephanie Strom, Connecticut approves labelling genetically modified foods. The New York Times, 3
June 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/business/connecticut-approves-
qualified-genetic-labeling.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1396400602-757tRA0JESXtaUE+NOmcug [accessed: 2
April 2014].
55 Ibid.
26
neighbouring states clause seems to be a compromise to ensure that Connecticut will not be punished or adversely affected for being a first mover.
2.2 Maine
In February 2013, the State of Maine legislature introduced An Act to Protect Maine
Food Consumers’ Right to Know about Genetically Engineered Food and Seed Stock.
According to the Bill’s summary, the legislation:
requires disclosure of genetic engineering at the point of retail sale of food and seed stock and provides
that food or seed stock for which the disclosure is not made is considered to be misbranded and subject
to the sanctions for misbranding. The bill provides that food or seed stock may not be labelled as
natural if it has been genetically engineered. The bill exempts products produced without knowledge
that the products, or items used in their production, were genetically engineered; animal products
derived from an animal that was not genetically engineered but was fed genetically engineered food;
and products with only a minimum content produced by genetic engineering. The bill also provides that
the disclosure requirements do not apply to restaurants, alcoholic beverages or medical food. The
disclosure provisions are administered by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.56
On the 11 June 2013 the Maine House passed the legislation by a vote of 141 to 4.
The Maine Senate unanimously supported the labelling of genetically modified foods. On 9
July 2013, Governor LePage pledged to sign the bill making it law in the state of Maine. In a
letter sent to Representative Lance Harvell (Republican-Farmington) and Senator Chris
Johnson (Democrat-Lincoln County), lead sponsors of the bill, Governor LePage stated: ‘I
deeply appreciate the strong public sentiment behind the bill and agree that consumers should
56 The Right to Know GMO. Maine. [Online]. Available at: http://righttoknow-gmo.org/states/maine
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
27
have the right to know what is in their food’.57 The Governor noted: ‘Additionally, my
support for the bill is based in large part on the requirement in the bill that similar legislation
be enacted and passed in other contiguous states’.58
Legislator Sharon Treat from the State of Maine has been concerned about the regime being affected by international trade agreements.59 She commented upon the desire of Maine
to protect its unique local laws:
In our state of Maine, which is a rather low-income state with limited economic opportunity (especially
now that our textile and shoe factories have almost all moved offshore following NAFTA and other
trade agreements), a bright spot is local food initiatives. Our land use and procurement policies are
encouraging young people to take up farming, and developing new markets for farmers to sell their
produce to schools, hospitals, and other institutions. We have enacted a GMO labeling law similar to
that in effect in EU countries, and policies that encourage organic and niche farming. We have also
enacted procurement laws – in effect for over a decade – which do not permit the purchase by our state
government of products made pursuant to unfair labor practices, or where discrimination is permitted.60
Sharon Treat was concerned that Maine’s food labelling regulations and
environmental laws would be under threat from trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific
Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
57 Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Governor LePage pledges support for GMO
labelling. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.mofga.org/Programs/PublicPolicyInitiatives/RightToKnowGMOMaine/LePagePledge/tabid/2645/D
efault.aspx [accessed: 2 April 2014].
58 Ibid.
59 Treat, S. 2014. Concerns about TTIP not just in Europe: Interview with US state legislator, TTIP:
Beware what lies beneath, 26 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://ttip2014.eu/blog-
detail/blog/USA%20concerns.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
60 Ibid.
28
2.3 Vermont
In 2005 Vermont considered the adoption of the Farmer Protection Act to deal with
GM crops.61 The bill placed strict liability for any economic damage to farmers on the producers of GM products, the biotech firms. Under the proposal, when a farmer sustains any damages as a result of contamination, they can claim compensation without having to prove the company's negligence. Joe Mendelson from the Centre of Food Safety explained the impetus for the measure.62 There was a great debate in Vermont about that particular piece of
legislation. Some members of the Vermont General Assembly believe that such legislation
was unnecessary. One member said that it was like having a baseball bat to attack a gnat.63
However, others believed that such legislation was very important in protecting farmers and
growers from liability concerns in relation to GM crops.
In 2011 Representative Kate Webb of Shelburne was the lead sponsor of a bill
requiring mandatory labels, the VT Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act 2011.64
Although the bill was approved by the House Agriculture Committee by a vote of 9 to 1, the
bill was not passed by the end of the legislative session. Interestingly, the biotechnology
61 Carrick, D. 2005. GM contamination of crops, The law report, ABC. [Online]. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/gm-contamination-of-crops/3373262 [accessed: 2
April 2014].
62 Ibid.
63 Ibid.
64 Vermont Right to Know GMOs. H.722, The VT Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act
introduced to Vermont House of Representatives. [Online]. Available at: http://www.vpirg.org/news/h-722-the-
vt-right-to-know-genetically-engineered-food-act-introduced-to-vermont-house-of-representatives-2/ [accessed:
2 April 2014].
29
company Monsanto threatened to sue the state of Vermont if the legislative bill was passed.65
In 2012 Corin Hirsch wondered: ‘So with Proposition 37 dead in California, will Vermont
become the first state to require labelling of GMOS?’66 In 2013, supporters of the VT Right to Know GMO Coalition – including the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, the
Northeast Farming Association of Vermont and Rural Vermont – sought to reintroduce a similar version of the bill.67 Falko Schilling, a consumer advocate, commented: ‘I think
Vermont has a great opportunity to lead on this issue’.68
In May 2013, a GMO Labelling bill passed the Vermont House of Representatives.69
However, some legislators opposed the bill. Governor Peter Shumlin was on record as
dubious about whether the bill would withstand a constitutional challenge. And the
biotechnology industry has threatened to challenge the validity and the legitimacy of any
state laws in respect of genetically modified food labelling. Monsanto has maintained:
65 Russia Today Question More. 2014. Monsanto threatens to sue the entire state of Vermont, 6 April
2014. [Online]. Available at: http://rt.com/usa/news/monsanto-sue-gmo-vermont-478/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
66 Hirsch, C. 2012. With Prop 37 dead in California, will Vermont become the first to label GMOs? 8
November 2012. [Online]. Available at: http://www.sevendaysvt.com/BiteClub/archives/2012/11/08/with- prop-37-dead-in-california-will-vermont-become-the-first-to-label-gmos [accessed: 2 April 2014].
67 Ibid.
68 Ibid.
69 An Act relating to the Labeling of Food Produced with Genetic Engineering 2012 (Vermont) H. 722.
[Online]. Available at: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2012/bills/Intro/H-722.pdf [accessed: 2 April 2014].
30
We oppose current initiatives to mandate labelling of ingredients developed from GM seeds in the
absence of any demonstrated risks. Such mandatory labelling could imply that food products containing
these ingredients are somehow inferior to their conventional or organic counterparts.70
Monsanto has threatened to challenge any Vermont legislation on GM food labelling.71
In particular, it has placed reliance on the 1996 decision of the United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit in International Dairy Foods Association v Jeffrey Amestoy,
Attorney General of Vermont on bovine somatotrophin (BST) labelling.72 In this matter, dairy manufacturers challenged Vermont laws, which required dairy manufacturers to identify products that were derived from cows treated with a synthetic growth hormone used to increase milk production. The dairy manufacturers alleged that the legislation violated the
Commerce Clause and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
At first instance, the judge focused on the economic impact of labelling and found that the dairy manufacturers had not demonstrated irreparable harm to any right protected by the
First Amendment.
On appeal, the court found in favour of the dairy manufacturers by a majority of two to one. For the majority, Judge Altimari held that the dairy manufacturers were entitled to an injunction. The judge held: ‘Because the statute at hand unquestionably implicates the dairy manufacturers’ speech rights, we reject the district court’s conclusion that the disclosure compelled by Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 6, § 2754(c), is not a “loss of First Amendment freedoms”,
70 Knowles, D. Vermont Senator continues fight for GMO labelling, defeat of Monsanto Protection Act.
New York Daily News, 28 May 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www nydailynews.com/news/politics/bernie- sanders-pressure-monsanto-article-1.1357031#ixzz2hf2EzMSK [accessed: 2 April 2014].
71 Ibid.
72 International Dairy Foods Association v. Attorney General of Vermont 92 F.3d 67 (1996).
31
amounting to irreparable harm’.73 Altimari maintained: ‘We do not doubt that Vermont's
asserted interest, the demand of its citizenry for such information, is genuine; reluctantly,
however, we conclude that it is inadequate’.74 However, the judge observed: ‘We are aware of no case in which consumer interest alone was sufficient to justify requiring a product’s manufacturers to publish the functional equivalent of a warning about a production method that has no discernible impact on a final product’.75 Judge Altimari held:
Absent, however, some indication that this information bears on a reasonable concern for human health
or safety or some other sufficiently substantial governmental concern, the manufacturers cannot be
compelled to disclose it. Instead, those consumers interested in such information should exercise the
power of their purses by buying products from manufacturers who voluntarily reveal it’.76
The judge then considered that ‘consumer curiosity alone is not a strong enough state interest
to sustain the compulsion of even an accurate, factual statement’.77
In dissent, Judge Leval held that the First Amendment should support the use of
labelling for the purposes of consumer protection and public health:
The policy of the First Amendment, in its application to commercial speech, is to favor the flow of
accurate, relevant information. The majority's invocation of the First Amendment to invalidate a state law
requiring disclosure of information consumers reasonably desire stands the Amendment on its ear. In my
73 Ibid., 72.
74 Ibid., 73.
75 Ibid., 73.
76 Ibid., 74.
77 Ibid., 74.
32
view, the district court correctly found that plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed in proving Vermont’s law
unconstitutional.78
Judge Leval commented that the true objective of the milk producers is concealment. The judge maintained: ‘The question is simply whether the First Amendment prohibits government from requiring disclosure of truthful relevant information to consumers’.79 His
Honour concluded: ‘In my view, the interest of the milk producers has little entitlement to protection under the First Amendment’.80 Judge Leval stressed that ‘the case law that has developed under the doctrine of commercial speech has repeatedly emphasized that the primary function of the First Amendment in its application to commercial speech is to advance truthful disclosure – the very interest that the milk producers seek to undermine’.81
His Honour emphasized that in any case ‘the precedential effect of the majority’s ruling is quite limited’ because ‘it applies only to cases where a state disclosure requirement is supported by no interest other than the gratification of consumer curiosity’.82
The decision in this matter could be contrasted with the recent decision of the High
Court of Australia in respect of the plain packaging of tobacco products – which held that health warnings were commonplace, and that the Australian Government had the legislative power to enforce their use.83 Justice Kiefel commented:
78 Ibid., 74.
79 Ibid.
80 Ibid., 80.
81 Ibid., 81.
82 Ibid., 81.
83 JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia [2012] HCA 43 (5 October 2012). See Rimmer, M.
2014. The High Court of Australia and the Marlboro man: The battle over the plain packaging of tobacco products, in Regulating Tobacco, Alcohol and Unhealthy Foods: The Legal Issues edited by T. Voon, A.
Mitchell and J. Liberman. London: Routledge, 337-360; Rimmer, M. 2013. Plain packaging for the Pacific Rim:
33
Many kinds of products have been subjected to regulation in order to prevent or reduce the likelihood
of harm. The labelling required for medicines and poisonous substances comes immediately to mind.
Labelling is also required for certain foods, to both protect and promote public health.84
It should be noted that, in this particular case, the combination of graphic pictures and
plain packaging of tobacco products were considered to be consistent with the Australian
Constitution.
In 2014, the Governor of Vermont signed the GM food labelling bill. Governor Peter
Shumlin discussed the legislative measure:
Vermonters take our food and how it is produced seriously, and we believe we have a right to know
what’s in the food we buy. I am proud that we’re leading the way in the United States to require
labeling of genetically engineered food. More than 60 countries have already restricted or labeled these
foods, and now one state – Vermont - will also ensure that we know what’s in the food we buy and
serve our families.85
Shumlin commented: ‘There is no doubt that there are those who will work to derail this common sense legislation.’86 He noted: ‘As you know, we're in the middle of an agricultural
renaissance in Vermont because more and more Vermonters care about where their food
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and tobacco control, in Trade Liberalisation and International Co-operation: A
Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement edited by T. Voon. Cheltenham (UK) and
Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 75-105.
84 JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia [2012] HCA 43 (5 October 2012) [316].
85 Shumlin, P. 2014, ‘Governor Signs First in the Nation Genetically Engineered Foods Labeling Law’, 8
May 2014, http://governor.vermont.gov/newsroom-gmo-bill-signing-release
86 Ibid.
34
comes from, what's in it, and who grew it.’87 Shumlin observed that the legislation would create momentum for change elsewhere in the United States: ‘It makes sense that we are again leading the nation in this important step forward.’88
The legislative bill created a special fund to support the implementation and
administration of the state labelling law, including costs and fees associated with any legal
challenge to the regime. The Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell observed: ‘The
constitutionality of the GMO labelling law will undoubtedly be challenged. He commented:
‘I can promise that my office will mount a vigorous and zealous defense of the law that has
so much support from Vermont consumers.’89
It is anticipated that Vermont’s GM food labelling laws will be challenged under a number of grounds by its opponents – including in respect of the First Amendment; Federal pre-emption; and constitutional laws regarding commerce and acquisition of property.90
The Independent Senator from Vermont in the United States Congress, Bernie
Sanders, was supportive of Vermont’s bill.91
87 Ibid.
88 Ibid.
89 Ibid.
90 Chokshi, N. 2014, ‘Vermont Just Passed The Nation’s First GMO Food Labeling Law. Now it Prepares to
Get Sued’, The Washington Post, 9 May 2014,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/04/29/how-vermont-plans-to-defend-the-nations-
first-gmo-law/
91 Knowles, D. 2013. Vermont Senator continues fight for GMO labelling, defeat of Monsanto Protection
Act. New York Daily News, 28 May 2013. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bernie-sanders-pressure-monsanto-article-1.1357031 [accessed: 2
April 2014].
35
2.4 Washington State
In January 2013 the bill – SB. 5073 was introduced to provide for the labelling of
genetically engineered foods and prescribe penalties for violation. The bill was sponsored by
Senators Chase, Klein, Keiser, Rolfes, and Hasegawa. Although this bill was not passed, it
nonetheless provided the impetus for public debate, and led to a citizen initiated initiative.
The State of Washington had a citizen initiated initiative relating to I-522.92 This initiative is entitled ‘an act relating to disclosure of foods produced through genetic engineering’. Section One served as a preamble or a recital. The bill maintained that ‘polls consistently show that the vast majority of the public, typically more than ninety percent, wants to know if their food was produced using genetic engineering’.93 The bill warned:
‘without disclosure, consumers of genetically engineered food unknowingly may violate their
own dietary and religious restrictions’.94 The bill observed that there was a gap in the legal
framework in the United States:
Currently, there is no federal or state law that requires food producers to identify whether foods were
produced using genetic engineering. At the same time, the United States Food and Drug Administration
does not require safety studies of such foods. Unless these foods contain a known allergen, the United
States food and drug administration does not require the developers of genetically engineered crops to
consult with the agency. Consultations with the United States food and drug administration are entirely
voluntary and the developers themselves may decide what information they may wish to provide.95
92 Yes on 522. [Online]. Available at: http://yeson522.com/about/read/ [site now archived].
93 Ibid.
94 Ibid.
95 Ibid.
36
The bill contended that ‘mandatory identification of foods produced with genetic engineering can provide a critical method for tracking the potential health effects of consuming foods produced through genetic engineering’.96 Moreover, the sponsors of the bill maintained: ‘Consumers have the right to know whether the foods they purchase were produced with genetic engineering’.97 The bill observed: ‘Forty-nine countries, including
Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Russia, the European Union member states, and other key United States trading partners, have laws mandating disclosure of genetically engineered foods on food labels’.98 The bill stressed: ‘Many countries have restrictions or bans against foods produced with genetic engineering’.99 Finally, the bill claimed: ‘No international agreements prohibit the mandatory identification of foods produced through genetic engineering’.100
Section 2 of the bill provides definitions of key words in the legislative proposal.
Section 3 provides the key prescriptions in respect of GM food labelling:
Beginning July 1, 2015, any food offered for retail sale in Washington is misbranded if it is, or may
have been, entirely or partly produced with genetic engineering and that fact is not disclosed as follows:
(a) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity, on the package offered for retail sale, with the words
‘genetically engineered’ stated clearly and conspicuously on the front of the package of such a
commodity, or in the case of such a commodity that is not separately packaged or labelled, on a
label appearing on the retail store shelf or bin where such a commodity is displayed for sale;
96 Ibid.
97 Ibid.
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid.
100 Ibid.
37
(b) In the case of any processed food, on the front of the package of such food produced by a
manufacturer, with the words ‘partially produced with genetic engineering’ or ‘may be partially
produced with genetic engineering’ stated clearly and conspicuously; and
(c) In the case of any seed or seed stock, on the seed or seed stock container, sales receipt or any
other reference to identification, ownership, or possession, with the words ‘genetically
engineered’ or ‘produced with genetic engineering’ stated clearly and conspicuously.101
However, the legislation does ‘not require either the listing or identification of any
ingredient or ingredients that were genetically engineered, nor that the term “genetically
engineered” be placed immediately preceding any common name or primary product
descriptor of a food’.102 The legislation contains a number of exemptions from the operation of this scheme.
Section 4 provides that ‘the department may adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter, provided that the department is not authorized to create any exemptions beyond those provided in section 3(3) of this act’.
Section 5 provides for penalties. Section 5 (2) noted: ‘The department may assess a civil penalty against any person violating this chapter in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars per day. Section 5 (3) provides ‘An action to enjoin a violation of this chapter may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction by any person in the public interest if the action is commenced more than sixty days after the person has given notice of the alleged violation to the department, the attorney general, and to the alleged violator’.
Section 5 (4) stipulates: ‘The court may award to a prevailing plaintiff reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees incurred in investigating and prosecuting an action to enforce this chapter’.103
101 Ibid.
102 Ibid.
103 Ibid.
38
Carole Bartolotto – a dietician – supported the labelling of GMOs in the state of
Washington: ‘Washington’s Initiative 522 to label genetically engineered foods, on the
November ballot, will help us get the transparency we desire’.104 She maintained that ‘if
Washington’s Initiative 522 passes and genetically modified foods are labelled … it just
might change the face of American agriculture forever’.105
There has been concern that the debate over GM food labelling in Washington has been shaped by industry contributions.106 A journalist reported that opponents of the initiative
had raised $17.2 million, while its supporters had only raised $4.9 million:
The money raised so far by both sides, about $21.9 million, is the second highest amount for a state
ballot measure, according to records kept by the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. It trails
money raised for and against a 2011 measure to privatize liquor sales.
Nearly all of the opposition money against I-522 has come from six out-of-state contributors
that also were among the top donors against California’s measure. The Grocery Manufacturers
Association has given $7.2 million, while the biotechnology company Monsanto Co. has given $4.8
million. The average contribution to No on 522 is $1.2 million.
About 72 percent of the money raised by supporters of I-522 has also come from out of state.
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps has given the most: $1.7 million. The pro-labelling group has received lots
of smaller donations from within the state. The average contribution to Yes on 522 is $874.107
104 Bartolotto, C. 2013. Why genetically modified food should be labelled. The Huffington Post, 4 October
2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carole-bartolotto/why-genetically-modified- food_b_4039114.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
105 Ibid.
106 Le, P. Big money shapes GMO food labelling fight in Washington. Associated Press, 6 October 2013.
[Online]. Available at: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Big-money-shapes-GMO-food-labeling-fight-in-
Wash--226675431.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
107 Ibid.
39
Environmentalists have urged food industry and biotechnology industry groups to
desist from funding the campaign against the proposed food labelling law in Washington
State. Lucia von Reusner of Green Century Capital Management, manager of
environmentally focused mutual funds, argued: ‘We believe that political contributions are a
poor investment and are calling companies not to spend money opposing legislation that
would give consumers labelling information’.108
In November 2013 Washington State voters rejected the initiative. The vote was 45.2 per cent in favour of labelling, and 54.8 per cent opposed to labelling.109 Marion Nestle,
Professor of Nutrition at New York University, predicted that there would be further
regulatory efforts: ‘At some point the industry is going to get tired of pouring this kind of
money into these campaigns’.110 No doubt there will be further efforts to push for GM food
labelling in Washington State.
3.5 Colorado
In 2014 there was an effort to put forward a ballot initiative.111 Initiative #48 would
require that GM food would come with packaging that announced ‘produced with genetic
engineering’ by the 1 July 2016. This initiative was challenged in the Supreme Court of
108 Abbott, C. 2013. Greens ask US biotech firms to sit out food-labelling vote. Reuters, 9 October 2013.
[Online]. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/10/usa-agriculture-gmo- idUSL1N0HZ1OJ20131010 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
109 Weise, E. 2013. Washington State voters reject state labeling of GMO foods. USA Today, 6 November
2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/06/washington-state-voters- reject-gmo-labeing/3450705/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
110 Ibid.
111 RT Question More. 2014. GMO labelling effort in Colorado scores win in State Supreme Court, 19
March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://rt.com/usa/colorado-gmo-label-court-945/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
40
Colorado.112 The Rocky Mountain Food Industry Association President Mary Lou Chapman
and Mark Arnusch, a farmer in rural Keenesburg, brought a challenge alleging that the ballot
was misleading. The Supreme Court of Colorado dismissed action. Larry Cooper, one of the
individuals who proposed the initiative, observed: ‘We are pleased that the state Supreme
Court ruled in favor of the GMO labelling ballot title, and we look forward to bringing a
GMO labelling initiative before the voters of Colorado this fall’.113 He stressed: ‘Coloradans
have the right to know what is in their food, and to make purchasing decisions for their
families based on knowing whether their foods are genetically engineered, and we believe
they will have that opportunity after November’.114
It remains to be seen whether there will be a larger coalition of states, proposing
regimes dealing with GM food labelling, given the closely contested nature of the
initiatives.115
3. President Barack Obama, the United States Congress, and GM Food Labelling
Turning from State to Federal legislation, in 2007, as a Presidential candidate, Barack
Obama, supported GM food labelling, emphasizing that he would strive to ‘let folks know
112 Arnusch and Chapman v. Cooper and Gray (2014) Colorado Supreme Court, Case Number L
2013SA335.
113 Long, J. Colorado Supreme Court OKs ballot title on GMO labelling initiative. Natural Products
Insider, 19 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www naturalproductsinsider.com/news/2014/03/colorado- supreme-court-oks-ballot-title-on-gmo-la.aspx [accessed: 2 April 2014].
114 Ibid.
115 Flynn, D. 2014. GE labelling resurrected in California, petition for ballot measure circulating in
Colorado. Food Safety News, 25 March 2014. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/03/gm-labeling-resurrected-in-california-petition-circulating-for- initiative-in-colorado/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
41
when their food is genetically modified, because Americans have a right to know what they
are buying’.116 However, he has shown little enthusiasm for policy reform during his two
terms of Presidency. In his piece, ‘The Vote for the Dinner Party’, Michael Pollan observed
that the Food Movement needed to gain greater influence in Federal Politics:
That’s why, sooner or later, the food movement will have to engage in the hard politics of Washington
— of voting with votes, not just forks. This is an arena in which it has thus far been much less
successful. It has won little more than crumbs in the most recent battle over the farm bill (which every
five years sets federal policy for agriculture and nutrition programs), a few improvements in school
lunch and food safety and the symbol of an organic garden at the White House. The modesty of these
achievements shouldn’t surprise us: the food movement is young and does not yet have its Sierra Club
or National Rifle Association, large membership organizations with the clout to reward and punish
legislators. Thus while Big Food may live in fear of its restive consumers, its grip on Washington has
not been challenged.117
The key features of Federal involvement with GM food labelling have been the indecisive debate about the role of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in respect of the regulation of GM food labelling; concerted efforts in 2013 to introduce legislative measures in the United States Congress; and the response by Congressional supporters of biotechnology to counter GM food labelling efforts at federal and state levels.
116 Philpott, T. 2011. Obama’s broken promise on GMO food labelling. Mother Jones, 6 October 2011.
[Online]. Available at: http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/10/fda-labeling-gmo-genetically- modified-foods [accessed: 2 April 2014].
117 Pollan, M. 2012. Vote for the dinner party. The New York Times, 10 October 2012. [Online]. Available at: http://www nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/why-californias-proposition-37-should-matter-to-anyone- who-cares-about-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
42
3.1 The United States Food and Drug Administration
In 1992 the FDA published a policy statement on foods created through genetic
engineering.118 The policy allowed for genetically engineered foods to be marketed without
labelling. The policy was based upon the determination that genetically modified foods were
substantially equivalent to foods produced through conventional methods. There has been
much debate and controversy over this policy statement. In 2011 the Center for Food Safety
petitioned the FDA to reform its regulation.119 The Center maintained:
Genetic engineering results in changes to foods at the molecular level that have never occurred in
traditional varieties. These changes are determinative of consumers’ food purchases and not readily
apparent. Thus, the absence of mandatory labelling disclosures for GE foods is misleading to consumers.
FDA’s failure to require labelling for GE foods is an abdication of its statutory mandate to require
labelling for foods that are “misbranded” because they are misleading.120
The petitioners demanded that the FDA require ‘that foods that are genetically
engineered organisms, or contain ingredients derived from genetically engineered organisms
– collectively referred to as “GE foods” – be labelled under the Federal Food Drug and
Cosmetic Act’.121 The Center contended that ‘the requested actions are necessary to prevent
118 FDA, 1992, Statement of Policy – Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties, Federal Register, Vol. 57
(104), 22984,
http://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/guidancedocumentsregulatoryinformation/biotechnology/ucm0960
95.htm
119 Center for Food Safety v United States Food and Drug Administration 2011. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/ge-labeling-petition-10-11-2011-final1_21309.pdf [accessed: 2 April
2014].
120 Ibid., 2.
121 Ibid.
43 economic fraud, and to protect consumers who are deceived by thinking the absence of labelling means the absence of GE foods’.122
The Center lamented that the current regulatory regime was inadequate and insufficient for genetically modified food labelling:
FDA’s outdated regulatory regime for food labelling is woefully inadequate. FDA is still using 19th
century ideas to regulate 21st century foods, focusing only on traits that consumers can detect with their
senses. But modern public preferences and purchasing decisions are based not only on sensory
perceptions, but also on concerns related to latent or unknown health risks, animal welfare, faith, political
concerns, social justice, and environmental impacts. In addition to genetic engineering, other novel and
unnatural food production technologies are either on the horizon or are currently in use, many completely
unbeknownst to consumers. 123
The Center argued ‘The use of these novel food technologies on a commercial scale has so far slipped underneath FDA’s current threshold for ‘materiality’ because they make silent, genetic, and molecular changes to food that are not capable of being detected by human senses’.124 The Center was concerned about the impact of such policies upon consumers: ‘As the use of these and future food production technologies proliferates, consumers know less and less about the food they put in their bodies.’125
The Center stressed that ‘the power and duty to modernize the oversight of food lies with Food and Drug Administration’.126 The Center argued that the ‘failure to require labeling of GE foods conflicts with this past FDA precedent and creates the appearance that
122 Ibid.
123 Ibid, 7.
124 Ibid.
125 Ibid.
126 Ibid., 8.
44
FDA has altered its past policies to benefit the biotechnology industry, not the public’.127 The
Center submitted that the ‘FDA has not just the statutory authority, but also the duty to
require that products of novel food technologies, particularly genetic engineering, be labeled
differently from their conventional counterparts’.128 The Center maintained that the ‘FDA’s
failure to take the requested action would be arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law’.129
The Center concluded:
Genetic engineering makes silent but fundamental changes to our food at the molecular and cellular
level, the full human health and environmental consequences of which are still being discovered.
Unlabelled GE foods are misleading to consumers, who in the absence of labelling overwhelmingly
purchase based on the reasonable assumption that their food is produced conventionally. Mandatory
labelling for GE foods is necessary in order to prevent consumer deception and economic fraud. 130
The FDA, though, has been unyielding in the face of such entreaties for the
introduction of GM food labelling. The Administration entirely ignored the prominent issue
of GM food labelling in new food labelling rules in 2014. Ronnie Cummins of the Organic
Consumers Association welcomed new regulations on nutrition: ‘Changes to nutrition labels
are long overdue, and it's great that Mrs. Obama is leading the charge to force food
manufacturers to provide more accurate information about their products’. 131 However, he
lamented that ‘conspicuously absent from the media hype was any mention of the one label
127 Ibid.
128 Ibid.
129 Ibid.
130 Ibid., 20.
131 Cummins, R. 2014. New FDA food label rules ignore the GMO elephant in the room. The Huffington
Post, 25 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie-cummins/new-fda-food- label-rules-_b_5022900 html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
45 that consumers have been crystal clear about wanting, the label that consumers in nearly 60 other countries have but Americans don't – a label that tells us whether or not our cereal or soda or mac & cheese contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs)’.132
3.2 The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act 2013 (US)
In April 2013, United States Senator Barbara Boxer, a Democrat for California, and
Congressman Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon, introduced the Genetically
Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act 2013 (US).133 The legislation would require the FDA to mandate clearly labelled genetically engineered foods. Senator Boxer commented on the legislative bill:
Americans have the right to know what is in the food they eat so they can make the best choices for their
families. This legislation is supported by a broad coalition of consumer groups, businesses, farmers,
fishermen and parents who all agree that consumers deserve more – not less – information about the food
they buy.134
Congressman DeFazio commented: ‘When American families purchase food, they deserve to know if that food was genetically engineered in a laboratory’.135 He observed:
‘This legislation is supported by consumer’s rights advocates, family farms, environmental
132 Ibid.
133 Boxer, B. 2013. Boxer, DeFazio introduce Bill to require labelling of genetically engineered foods. Press
Release, 24 April 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/press/releases/042413.cfm
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
134 Ibid.
135 Ibid.
46 organizations, and businesses, and it allows consumers to make an informed choice’.136
Senator Gillibrand maintained: ‘American consumers have made it clear that they want to be empowered to make choices about the food they eat’.137The Senator stressed: ‘This legislation will deliver the transparency every American deserves by providing clear labelling standards for food containing genetically engineered ingredients’.138 Senator Richard
Blumenthal commented of the legislative proposal:
This is a common sense approach to ensuring that American consumers know more and make more
informed decisions about the foods they eat. As an advocate for consumers’ rights and ally of many
groups supporting this measure, I want to make sure the food industry gives consumers the full story
about what they put on their dinner tables. Consumers deserve to have clear, consistent, and accurate
facts about the food products they purchase. More information is always better than less.139
Alaskan Senator Begich maintained: ‘Labelling Genetically Engineered food should be a no-brainer which is why I’m pleased to join my colleagues on this bill to make sure consumers are fully informed when they make choices at the grocery store’.140 Senator Tester said: ‘American families shouldn’t have to play a guessing game when it comes to the food they put on their kitchen tables’. The Senator insisted that ‘consumers have a right to know what’s in their food, and this bill gives them the tools they need to make informed decisions about the foods they choose’.141 Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders observed: ‘All
136 Ibid.
137 Ibid.
138 Ibid.
139 Ibid.
140 Ibid.
141 Ibid.
47 over this country people are becoming more conscious about the foods they are eating and the foods they are serving to their kids’.142
Oregon Senator Merkley, ‘Labelling is the common sense way to bring more transparency to consumers’.143 Congressman Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado, supported the measure in terms of consumer rights.144 He commented:
Despite the prevalence of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in grocery stores and prepared
foods, it remains difficult if not impossible for consumers to determine if the foods they eat contain
GMOs. This labelling bill is about empowering consumers: consumers can choose to eat or not eat
GMOs, or to pay more or less for GMOs. I believe consumers have a right to know what they are eating
so they can make their own informed food choices. I am proud to be working toward more informative
food labels.145
The press release noted: ‘Unfortunately, the FDA’s antiquated labelling policy has not kept pace with 21st century food technologies that allow for a wide array of genetic and molecular changes to food that can’t be detected by human senses’.146 The press release invoked common sense: ‘Common sense would indicate that GE corn that produces its own insecticide – or is engineered to survive being doused by herbicides – is materially different from traditional corn that does not’.147 The press release also made comparisons to patent
142 Ibid.
143 Ibid.
144 Polis, J. 2013. Polis, Defazio introduce Bill to require labelling of genetically engineered food. 24 April
2013. [Online]. Available at: http://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=331458 [accessed:
2 April 2014].
145 Ibid.
146 Ibid.
147 Ibid.
48 law: ‘Even the US Patent and Trademark Office has recognized that these foods are materially different and novel for patent purposes’.148
In an interview with The Huffington Post, De Fazio – who has grown organic produce – said that he was agnostic about the health effects of GMOs.149 However, he supported the mandatory labelling of food with genetically-engineered ingredients because of a strong conviction about the importance of consumer choice: ;Even the most ardent free market advocate, someone who’s a devout follower of Adam Smith, would have to admit that consumers aren't being given full information right now’.150
De Fazio was hopeful that the legislative bill would generate a ‘grassroots tidal wave of support’ from voters – much like the National Organic Standards did in 1993. Nonetheless, he was concerned that the Obama administration was rather indifferent to the proposal:
‘They’re approaching it more like a competitive biotech issue for the US, as opposed to a much more insidious threat to our farmers and to consumers’.151
Scott Faber, president of the Environmental Working Group and the Just Label It! campaign in favor of GMO labelling, expected opposition from the biotechnology and agricultural industries and predicted that the bill ‘faces an uphill climb in both the House and
Senate’.152 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) spokeswoman Karen Badt signalled that the biotechnology industry would oppose the proposal in relation to food labelling:
148 Ibid.
149 Satran, J. 2013. Genetically engineered food labelling taken on by Congress in Right-to-Know Act. The
Huffington Post, 25 April 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/genetically-engineered-food_n_3149418.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
150 Ibid.
151 Ibid.
152 Ibid.
49
‘Unfortunately, advocates of mandatory “GMO labelling” are working an agenda to vilify
biotechnology and scare consumers away from safe and healthful food products’.153
Elizabeth Kucinich, the Policy Director of the Center for Food Safety, has called for
President Barack Obama to fulfil his campaign promises on GMO labelling.154 She stressed
‘Although the FDA doesn’t need congressional authorization in order to mandate a federal
labeling standard for GMOs, federal lawmakers have become increasingly vocal on the
issue’.155 Kucinich observed:
There is ample precedent. As well as basic ingredients, labels also disclose country of origin, irradiation
and even, orange juice ‘made from concentrate’. FDA’s labelling requirements are not based on solely on
safety concerns and nutrition, a common myth propped up by the food and chemical industries. A federal
labelling standard would give consumers the opportunity to make their own choices about the foods they
bring home to their families.156
In her view, President Obama should push for transparency in respect of food labelling
to help build public trust.
3.3 The ‘Monsanto Protection Act’
153 Ibid.
154 Kucinich, E. 2014. Members of Congress, farmers and businesses call on Obama to Fulfill campaign promise on GMO labelling. The Huffington Post, 16 January 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-kucinich/post_6676_b_4612219 html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
155 Ibid.
156 Ibid.
50
There has been a murky debate over the introduction, passage, and subsequent repeal
of the Farmer Assurance Provision, ‘Monsanto Protection’ Act.157 A large number of civil
society groups complained about the measure:
Earlier this year, hundreds of thousands of Americans called their elected officials to voice their
frustration and disappointment over the inclusion of a controversial policy rider (Sec. 735) – dubbed
‘the Monsanto Protection Act’ – in the Continuing Resolution spending bill (H.R. 933). The rider
represents a serious assault on the fundamental safeguards of our judicial system, and could negatively
impact farmers, the environment and public health across America. Yet it was quietly slipped into HR
933 without congressional debate, hearings or input from any of the relevant committees. 158
The civil society groups objected that ‘Sec. 735 is an unprecedented overstep of the
clear-cut boundary of a Constitutionally-guaranteed separation of powers essential to our
government’.159 In their review, ‘this rider sets a dangerous precedent for congressional intervention in the judiciary’.160 The civil society groups maintained the measure was a
significant interference in the operation of the rule of law: ‘The ability of courts to review,
evaluate and judge an issue that impacts public and environmental health is a strength – not a
157 Sheets, C. 2013. ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ killed in Senate: Controversial measure removed from
Spending Bill. International Business Times, 27 September 2013. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/monsanto-protection-act-killed-senate-controversial-provision-removed-spending- bill-1412160 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
158 Center for Food Safety. 2013. 129 organizations and companies strongly oppose the Monsanto
Protection Act, 11 September 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/group-
letter-opposing-biotech-rider-in-fy14-cr_14926.pdf [accessed: 2 April 2014].
159 Ibid.
160 Ibid.
51
weakness – of our system’.161 The groups complained that ‘the rider does not merely allow, it
would force, the Secretary of Agriculture to immediately grant any requests for permits to
allow continued planting and commercialization of an unlawfully approved genetically
engineered (GE) crop’.162 The organisations were concerned that a rubber-stamp process
‘could leave public health, the environment and livelihoods at risk’.163
Under pressure from the food movement, Democrats Barbara Mikulski and Jeff
Merkley of the United States Senate took action to remove the ‘Monsanto Protection Act’
language from the Senate version of the Bill.164 Monsanto defended the measures.165 The biotechnology company emphasized that the purpose of the measure was ‘to reinforce the integrity of the regulatory system and protect farmers from the disruption of frivolous lawsuits’.166 The company maintained that there is a need to ensure that the regulatory system
was ‘based on real science, operating in a timely and data-driven manner to deliver choices to
farmers and the economy they support’.167 Monsanto stressed: ‘We will be working to
support the efforts of the USDA and US EPA to make the regulatory system work to provide
161 Ibid.
162 Ibid.
163 Ibid.
164 Sheets, C. 2013. ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ killed in Senate: Controversial measure removed from
Spending Bill. International Business Times, 27 September 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.com/monsanto-protection-act-killed-senate-controversial-provision-removed-spending-bill-
1412160 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
165 Monsanto, 2013. Expiration of the Farmer Assurance Provision, 26 September 2013. [Online].
Available at: http://monsantoblog.com/2013/09/26/expiration-of-the-farmer-assurance-provision/ [accessed: 2
April 2014].
166 Ibid.
167 Ibid.
52
timely, science-based decisions on new products designed to help our farmers produce food
and fiber as efficiently and sustainably as possible’.168
3.4 The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act 2014
There has also been discussion as to whether there would be federal efforts to make it illegal for the states to engage in the labelling of genetically modified foods.
In April 2014, United States Representative, Mike Pompeo, a Republican congressman from Kansas introduced legislation, which would nullify state efforts to require the labelling of genetically modified foods. 169 The legislation was called the Safe and
Accurate Food Labeling Act 2014.170 Pompeo explained of the federal legislative proposal:
We've got a number of states that are attempting to put together a patchwork quilt of food labeling
requirements with respect to genetic modification of foods. That makes it enormously difficult to
operate a food system. Some of the campaigns in some of these states aren't really to inform consumers
but rather aimed at scaring them. What this bill attempts to do is set a standard.171
168 Ibid.
169 Gillam, C. 2014. ‘U.s. Bill Seeks to Block Mandatory GMO Food Labeling by States’, Reuters, 9 April
2014, Available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/09/usa-gmo-lawmaking- idUSL2N0N115F20140409
170 Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014 (HR 4432). Mike Pompeo, ‘Pompeo, Butterfield Release
Bipartisan Food Labeling Reform’, Press Release, 10 April 2014, Available at http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=376238
171 Gillam, C. 2014. ‘U.s. Bill Seeks to Block Mandatory GMO Food Labeling by States’, Reuters, 9 April
2014, Available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/09/usa-gmo-lawmaking- idUSL2N0N115F20140409
53
Pompeo maintained that GM foods are safe and ‘equally healthy’ and no special labeling was
required or needed. He observed that GM crops: has ‘to date made food safer and more
abundant’ and ‘has been an enormous boon to all of humanity.’172
The peak body for the biotechnology industry, BIO, applauded the introduction of the
legislation.173 Cathy Enright, BIO’s Executive President for Food and Agriculture,
contended: ‘We also endorse the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act as a federal GMO labeling solution that helps to address consumers’ questions about GMO safety and provides them with tools necessary to make informed decisions.’174 The Coalition for Safe Affordable
Food was established in order to support the passage of the legislative bill.175
In response, Elizabeth Kucinich suggested that Pompeo’s bill was designed to
‘muddy congressional waters and keep consumers in the dark by preventing GMO
labelling.’176 She suggested that the Grocery Manufacturers Association was the driving force
behind Pompeo’s proposal. She also wondered whether the Coalition for Safe Afforable Food
was really a popular movement, or just an exercise in astroturfing. Kucinich observed: ‘The
overall strategy is one that Sun Tzu could be proud of: obfuscation.’177 She retorted: ‘Tired
172 Ibid.
173 BIO, 2014, ‘BIO Applauds Introduction of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act’, Press Release, 9
April 2014, Available at http://www.bio.org/media/press-release/bio-applauds-introduction-safe-and-
accurate-food-labeling-act
174 Ibid.
175 Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food, http://coalitionforsafeaffordablefood.org/
176 Kucinich, E. 2014. GMO Pushers and The Art of War, The Huffington Post, 10 April 2014/ Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-kucinich/gmo-labeling b 5120692.html
177 Ibid.
54 and false claims about GMOs saving the world are not a sufficient reason to deny citizens their right to know.’178
There may be insufficient support for this bill under the present United States
Congress. If the bill is passed, there could will be conflict between state and federal regimes in respect of GM food labelling.
4. Trade, Investment, and GM Food Labelling
There has been significant debate over the Obama administration’s pursuit of regional trade agreements – such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), involving a dozen countries in the Pacific Rim,179 and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a proposed trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. Will the Trans-Pacific
Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership affect policy flexibilities in respect of the public governance of food, the environment, and public health?
There has been concern about the impact of such regional trade initiatives on packaging and labelling laws and regulations – such as graphic health warnings and the plain packaging of tobacco products; food nutrition information; and GM food labelling.
There has been significant opposition to the fast-tracking of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. A grand coalition of civil society organisations – including campaigners on GM food labelling – have lobbied the
United States Congress against fast-tracking the trade deals.180 The Organic Consumers
Association has opposed the grant of a fast track authority because it is concerned that secret
178 Ibid.
179 Brewster, K. 2013. Trans-Pacific Partnership could damage Australia, Lateline, ABC, 10 October
2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.abc net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3866749.htm [accessed: 2 April
2014].
180 Stop Fast Track. [Online]. Available at: http://www.stopfasttrack.com/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
55
trade agreements threaten food safety and subvert democracy: ‘If these deals are rammed through Congress without scrutiny or debate, we could lose our right to regulate factory farms and GMOs’.181 LabelGMOs.org has also opposed Fast Track: ‘We believe in food
sovereignty for all people and are taking a strong stand against corporate control of our food
supply’.182 GMO Inside opposes Fast Track because of its concern that ‘under the TPP GMO
labels for US food would not be allowed’.183
GMO Free Arizona fears that the ‘TPP will pre-empt important GMO labelling and
moratoriums’184 and is concerned that ‘the TPP would unravel our movement’s work with
GMO labelling, GMO cultivation bans and gut food and environmental safety standards’.185
In addition to such specific concerns about GM food labelling, there are broader concerns
about how the trade deals will affect intellectual property, public health, the environment,
consumer rights, and workers’ jobs and wages.
The debate over GM food labelling is a highly polarised discussion – even in
international discussions over the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership. It is still hard to determine whether such hopes or fears are
justified, in the absence of open, public text and negotiating positions.
181 Ibid. See Organic Consumers Association. Don’t let Congress ‘fast-track’ dangerous trade deals.
[Online]. Available at: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=12779
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
182 Stop Fast Track. [Online]. Available at: http://www.stopfasttrack.com/ [accessed: 2 April 2014]. See
also Hall, S. 2013. Monsanto to outlaw GM labelling worldwide through secret trade – the TPP, 26 November
2013. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.labelgmos.org/monsanto_to_outlaw_gmo_labeling_worldwide_through [accessed: 2 April 2014]
183 Stop Fast Track. [Online]. Available at: http://www.stopfasttrack.com/ [accessed: 2 April 2014]. See
also GMO Inside.org. [Online]. Available at: http://gmoinside.org/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
184 Stop Fast Track. [Online]. Available at: http://www.stopfasttrack.com/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
185 Ibid.
56
There has been much debate about the secrecy of such regional trade agreements.
Critics have lamented the lack of transparency, accountability, legislative, and public
participation. United States Congressional Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren warned of the
dangers of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership:
For big corporations, trade agreement time is like Christmas morning. They can get special gifts they
could never pass through Congress out in public. Because it’s a trade deal, the negotiations are secret
and the big corporations can do their work behind closed doors. We’ve seen what happens here at home
when our trading partners around the world are allowed to ignore workers’ rights, wages, and
environmental rules. From what I hear, Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, telecom, big polluters, and
outsourcers are all salivating at the chance to rig the upcoming trade deals in their favor’.186
She commented: ‘I believe that if people would be opposed to a particular trade
agreement, then that trade agreement should not happen’.187 The Democrats in the United
States Congress have been reluctant to provide President Barack Obama with a fast-track
authority in respect of the regional trade deals.188 As such, there is an impasse between the
Obama administration and the United States Congress over these sweeping trade deals,
spanning the Pacific Rim, and the Atlantic.
4.1 The Trans-Pacific Partnership
186 Warren, E. 2013. Remarks to the AFL-CIO Convention, 8 September 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.warren.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=234 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
187 Ibid.
188 Needham, V. 2014. Pelosi comes out against fast track. The Hill, 12 February 2014. [Online].
Available at: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/198297-pelosi-comes-out-against-fast-track-bill [accessed: 2
April 2014].
57
There has been much controversy over the Trans-Pacific Partnership – a plurilateral
trade agreement involving a dozen nations from throughout the Pacific Rim.189 One of the
most contentious areas of debate has been the question of agriculture. Deborah Elms
comments that there has been discussion over the inclusion of agriculture in the deal:
In preparing their calculations about the net benefits of the TPP, many officials realised that if
agricultural trade were excluded from the final agreement (or if significant sectors were carved out of the
final document, the net economic benefits from the TPP would be lower. Because some agricultural
sectors had not been liberalised or had not been fully liberalised in past agreements, there was still scope
for improvement in the TPP… If any one area could be carved out as too sensitive for inclusion, it would
establish the possibility that countries could carve out other highly sensitive issues from the text
elsewhere.190
There are a range of agricultural issues under debate – including tariffs and harmonised system codes; rules of origin; sanitary and phytosanitary rules; intellectual property standards; investment; the protection of the environment; and the use of regulations, such as food labelling.
189 See Voon, T. (ed.). 2013. Trade liberalisation and international co-operation: A legal analysis of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar; Lim, C.,
Elms, D. and Low, P. (eds.). 2012. The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A quest for a Twenty-First Century trade agreement, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Kelsey J. (ed.). 2010. No ordinary deal: Unmasking the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books Inc; and Kelsey, J,
2013, Hidden Agendas: What we need to Know About the TPPA, Wellington: Bridget Williams Books Inc..
190 Elms, D. 2013. Agriculture and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, in Trade Liberalisation and
International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement edited by T. Voon.
Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 106-130, 107.
58
In November 2013 WikiLeaks published a Draft Text of the Intellectual Property
chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.191 The Intellectual Property chapter includes text on patent law; trade mark law; copyright law; data protection; and intellectual property enforcement.192 A number of the United States proposals are particularly about boosting the
intellectual property rights of agricultural companies, the biotechnology industry, and the
food industry. In January 2014 WikiLeaks also published a Draft Text of the Environment
Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.193 The text reveals a weak regime for the
protection of the environment, biodiversity, and climate change.194 As such, the Environment
Chapter will do little to provide for protection of public regulation in respect of food and the
environment. There has also been much concern about the proposals in respect of the
Investment Chapter.195 The investor-state dispute settlement regime would enable foreign
191 WikiLeaks. 2013. Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: The IP chapter, 13 November 2013.
[Online]. Available at: https://wikileaks.org/tpp/ [accessed: 22 May 2014].
192 Rimmer, M. 2013. Our future is at risk: Disclose the Trans-Pacific Partnership now. New Matilda, 15
November 2013. [Online]. Available at: https://newmatilda.com/2013/11/15/our-future-risk-disclose-tpp-now
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
193 WikiLeaks. 2013. WikiLeaks release of secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment chapter consolidated text, 24 November 2013. [Online]. Available at: https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/ [accessed: 2
April 2014].
194 Rimmer, M. and Wood, C. 2014. Trans-Pacific Partnership greenwashes dirty politics. New Matilda,
17 January 2014. [Online]. Available at: https://newmatilda.com/2014/01/16/tpp-greenwashes-dirty-politics
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
195 Rimmer, M. 2012. A dangerous investment: Australia, New Zealand, and the Trans-Pacific
Partnership. The Conversation, 2 July 2012. [Online]. Available at: http://theconversation.edu.au/a-dangerous- investment-australia-new-zealand-and-the-trans-pacific-partnership-7440 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
59
investors to bring tribunal action against nation states in respect of government decisions
which adversely affect their foreign investments.196
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has maintained that the status quo in
the United States should be a model for the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
With regard to labelling of foods derived from agricultural biotechnology, BIO recommends the
development of labelling practices consistent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Draft
Guidance. Therefore, any mandatory or required labelling for genetically engineered products should be
science based, such as if the product has been significantly changed nutritionally or if there have been
changes in other significant health-related characteristics of the food (allergenicity, toxicity, or
composition). Voluntary labelling should be truthful and not misleading.197
BIO has maintained:
The US government has stated the intention to treat the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a model agreement
for the 21st century, and therefore BIO believes that sound, objective and science-based approaches to
agricultural biotechnology regulation should be a top priority, particularly with respect to the challenges
facing global agriculture and energy supplies in the 21st century and beyond.198
The biotechnology industry is thus keen for the Trans-Pacific Partnership to address
regulatory restrictions in respect of agricultural biotechnology – including in respect of
196 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2014, ‘Recent Developments in
Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Updated for the Multilateral Dialogue on Investment’, April 2014, http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/webdiaepcb2014d3 en.pdf
197 Biotechnology Industry Organization, ‘BIO comments on the proposed accession of Malaysia to the
Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations’, 22 November 2010. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bio.org/node/228 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
198 Ibid.
60
labelling. Accordingly, as James Trimarco has warned: ‘The Trans Pacific Partnership is
likely to be a setback for efforts to regulate and label GMO foods’.199
There has been concern about the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on food regulation. Sharon Friel, Deborah Gleeson, and Libby Hattersley have stressed that
‘international trade agreements bring new transnational food companies into countries, along with new food advertising and promotion’.200 The health and trade researchers observed:
The Trans Pacific Partnership is likely to provide stronger investor protections and enable greater (food)
industry involvement in policy-making. It could lead to sweeping changes to domestic regulatory
systems, and open up new opportunities for companies to appeal against domestic policies they consider
to be a violation of their privileges under the agreement. Together, these changes would weaken the
ability for governments to protect public health by, for example, limiting imports and domestic
manufacturing of unhealthy foods and drinks.201
There has been particular disquiet that ‘at the 15th round of negotiations in Auckland
last December, the Malaysian government – supported by the United States – reportedly
suggested restricting the amount of information food companies would be required to provide
about ingredients and formulae of processed food products’.202 Friel and her collaborators
comment that ‘these sorts of proposals raise concerns about consumer access to information
199 Trimarco, J. 2013. Will a secretive international trade deal ban GMO labelling? Yes Magazine!, 18
October 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/will-secretive-international-trade- deal-ban-gmo-labeling-trans-pacific-partnership [accessed: 2 April 2014].
200 Friel, S., Gleeson, D. and Hattersley, L. 2013. Trans Pacific Partnership puts member countries’ health
at risk. The Conversation, 9 May 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://theconversation.com/trans-pacific-
partnership-puts-member-countries-health-at-risk-13711 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
201 Ibid.
202 Ibid.
61 about food products, as well as the ability of governments to regulate food labelling on public health grounds’.203 The group maintained: ‘Measures like that one will undermine health policy goals and extend the control of the food industry over domestic policy’.204 In their view, ‘Re-balancing food industry influence in the negotiation process with input from the health sector is vital’.205 Friel and her collaborators called for a greater focus upon the protection of public health and nutrition in the trade negotiations: ‘Public health advocates and health policymakers must engage with trade negotiations to preserve policy space for public health goals before the window of opportunity closes’.206
Barbara Chicherio complained that the Trans-Pacific Partnership was a boon to
Monsanto, and would undermine public regulation in respect of food and health.207 She was particularly worried about the labelling of GM foods:
The labelling of foods containing GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) will not be allowed. Japan
now has labelling laws for GMOs in food. Under the TPP Japan would no longer be able to label GMOs.
This situation is the same for New Zealand and Australia. The US is just beginning to see some progress
towards labelling GMOs. Under the TPP GMO labels for US food would not be allowed.208
The Sustainability Council in New Zealand has also been particularly concerned about the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership upon GM Food Labelling. In an opinion-editorial for The New Zealand Herald, Stephanie Howard and Simon Terry wondered: ‘Will losing the
203 Ibid.
204 Ibid.
205 Ibid.
206 Ibid.
207 Chicherio, B. 2013. How new ‘free’ trade deal aids Monsanto. Green Left Weekly, 28 September 2013.
[Online]. Available at: https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/55054 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
208 Ibid.
62
right to choose GM-free food be a price of the next and biggest free trade deal?’209 The
researchers at the Sustainability Council observed:
The United States has made clear that a priority for the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is the
abolition of laws that require genetically modified foods to be labelled. That puts New Zealand in its
sights because of GM ingredients in food products must generally be labelled here.
Although there are exemptions such as highly refined oils and GM contamination below 1 per
cent, New Zealand food companies and supermarkets have avoided ingredients in their products that
would trigger the labelling and retailers essentially do not stock products tagged as GM.
Without the labelling law, New Zealanders who want to avoid genetically modified food
would have to rely on the willingness of producers to declare such content - or a patchwork of
independent testing.
Loss of the right to know when a product contains GM ingredients could quickly slide into
effective loss of the right to choose everyday foods that are not genetically modified. Instead of it being
the norm for food companies to strive to keep GM out of their products, this could become the preserve
of niche eco brands.210
The writers alleged: ‘The reason Washington wants to stamp out all mandatory
labelling is plain: the US is the world's largest producer of GM crops and its soy and corn are
now almost all genetically modified’.211
Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, and
Kaitlin Cordes, a food security researcher from Columbia University have made an important
209 Howard, S. and Terry, S. 2011. Let’s Insist on Labels for GM Food’, The New Zealand Herald, 10
November 2011. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10764893 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
210 Ibid.
211 Ibid.
63
contribution to the policy debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership.212 The writers lament
the failure to consider the human rights implications of the agreement:
Whether trade liberalization generally helps or harms the most vulnerable is a complex question. But
that theoretical debate should not prevent us from carrying out a thorough human-rights impact
assessment on the terms of the deal currently on the table. Such an assessment should be conducted
before the TPP negotiations reach any final agreement on the relevant issues, and it should not
overlook how the terms are implemented in practice. Unfortunately, TPP member states have not
only failed to do this; they have also excluded independent organizations from the assessment process
by refusing to provide access to draft texts.213
Citing the work of Joseph Stiglitz, Olivier De Schutter and Kaitlin Cordes worry that ‘the
TPP’s emphasis on regulatory policies suggests that business interests will trump human
rights’.214
In particular, De Schutter and Cordes express concerns about the impact of the Trans-
Pacific Partnership upon farming, agriculture, and food security:
Leaked drafts of intellectual-property proposals show an obstinate US effort to require patent
protections for plants and animals, thus going beyond the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS
Agreement 1994. The US stance could further restrict farmers’ access to productive resources, thus
212 Olivier De Schutter and Kaitlin Cordes, ‘Trading Away Human Rights’, Project Syndicate, 7 January
2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/olivier-de-schutter-and-kaitlin-y-- cordes-demand-that-the-trans-pacific-partnership-s-terms-be-subject-to-a-human-rights-impact- assessment#9Lq5cFjsOIfGZhhf.99 [accessed: 2 April 2014].
213 Ibid.
214 Ibid.
64
affecting the right to food. And such proposals would limit governments’ options when addressing
wider food-related human-rights issues.215
The writers warn: ‘This clash of interests contravenes basic principles of international law, namely that countries’ trade deals must not conflict with their obligations under human-rights treaties’.216 The policy-makers emphasized: ‘That is why a human-rights impact assessment must be conducted – and necessary additional safeguards added – before any TPP deal is signed’.217
De Schutter and Cordes stressed that transparency and inclusiveness should be the prerequisites of any deal: ‘Although trade negotiations require discretion to avoid political grandstanding by participants, the secrecy that currently surrounds the TPP talks is preventing important human-rights arguments from being aired’.218 De Schutter and Cordes emphasized that a change in the process could address significant injustices: ‘If they truly want the TPP to be a model for the twenty-first-century global economy, as they claim, then they should show real leadership’.219 The pair advised: ‘The TPP negotiators should consider the rights of everyone affected by the deal and act in the public interest, not just the special interests of the economic players that stand to benefit the most’.220
215 Ibid.
216 Ibid.
217 Ibid.
218 Ibid.
219 Ibid.
220 Ibid.
65
In a report to the United Nations on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter has
explored the interaction between intellectual property and food security.221 The Special
Rapporteur argued that:
in order to ensure that the development of the intellectual property rights regime and the implementation
of seed policies at the national level are compatible with the right to food, States should … support
efforts by developing countries to establish a sui generis regime for the protection of intellectual property
rights which suits their development needs and is based on human rights.222
Olivier De Schutter was hopeful that democracy and diversity could help mend broken food
systems.223 He observed: ‘The greatest deficit in the food economy is the democratic one’.224
And argued: ‘By harnessing people’s knowledge and building their needs and preferences
into the design of ambitious food policies at every level, we would arrive at food systems that
are built to endure’.225 He maintained that ‘food democracy must start from the bottom-up, at
the level of villages, regions, cities, and municipalities’.226 Olivier De Schutter has insisted
221 De Schutter, O. 2014. The Transformative Potential of the Right to Food: Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly, A/HRC/25/57, 24
January 2014. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/20140310_finalreport_en.pdf [accessed: 2 April 2014].
222 Ibid., 21-22.
223 De Schutter, O. 2014. Democracy and diversity can mend broken food systems – Final diagnosis from
UN Right to Food expert. United Nations, 10 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.srfood.org/en/democracy-and-diversity-can-mend-broken-food-systems-final-diagnosis-from-un- right-to-food-expert [accessed: 2 April 2014].
224 Ibid.
225 Ibid.
226 Ibid.
66
that there is a need for an ‘alternative paradigm for the 21st century’: ‘There is much that can
be done by developing countries themselves to support small-scale farmers with the land,
credit, technology and market access they need’.227
4.2 The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
In addition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Barack Obama has also been
pursuing a Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.228
In 2013, Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch and Montana Democrat Senator
Baucus wrote to the United States Trade Representative on the priorities that should be
embodied in any United States- European Trade Agreement.229 The pair demanded access for
United States agricultural exports; a relaxation of biotechnology regulations; and strong
intellectual property protection. Hatch and Baucus insisted that ‘broad bipartisan
Congressional support for expanding trade with the EU depends, in large part, on lowering
trade barriers for American agricultural products’.230 The pair lamented: ‘The EU has
historically imposed sanitary and phytosanitary measures that act as significant barriers to
US-EU trade, including the EU’s restrictions on genetically engineered crops’.231 Hatch and
227 De Schutter, O. 2014. Ending hunger – the rich world holds the keys. The Ecologist, 25 March 2014.
[Online]. Available at:
http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2333245/ending_hunger_the_rich_world_hold
s_the_keys.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
228 The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/
229 Baucus, M. and Hatch, O. 2013. Baucus, Hatch outline priorities for potential US-EU trade agreement’,
Press Release, The United States Committee on Finance, 12 February 2013. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/release/?id=17b2fd73-067d-4a4a-a50f-a00265efbf67
[accessed: 2 April 2014].
230 Ibid.
231 Ibid.
67
Baucus also stressed that ‘Congressional support will also require strong intellectual property
protection’.232 The pair noted: ‘Intellectual property is America’s competitive advantage,
underpinning a wide range of industries including manufacturing, food processing,
information and communications technology, entertainment, biotech, pharmaceuticals and
financial services’.233 In their view: ‘It is imperative that US trade agreements protect US
innovation and allow our innovative industries to compete in global markets’.234
The Food Democracy Now! movement has been alarmed by the influence of
biotechnology companies on the development of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the
Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: ‘Just as we are on the verge of winning
GMO labelling in the US, these secret negotiations could eliminate the ability of countries around the world to label GMOs or impose common sense restrictions on the sale of genetically engineered seed and food in their countries if Monsanto and other biotech companies get their way’.235
The European Commission has sought to deny that the European Union will be forced
to change its laws on genetically modified organisms.236 The Commission insisted: ‘Basic
laws, like those relating to GMOs or which are there to protect human life and health, animal
232 Ibid.
233 Ibid.
234 Ibid.
235 Food Democracy Now! Stop the Secret Trade Deals: The Monsanto Protection Act on Steroids.
[Online]. Available at:
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/stop_tpp_tafta_monsanto_protection_act_on_steroids/ [accessed: 2
April 2014].
236 European Commission. The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. [Online]. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/ [accessed: 2 April 2014].
68 health and welfare, or environment and consumer interests will not be part of the negotiations’.237 The Commission observed:
Under EU rules, GMOs that have been approved for use as food, for animal feed or for sowing as crops
can already be sold in the EU. Applications for approval are assessed by the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) and then sent to EU Member States for their opinion. So far, 52 GMOs have been
authorised. The safety assessment which EFSA carries out before any GMO is placed on the market and
the risk management procedure will not be affected by the negotiations.238
The Commission agreed that there would be co-operation on the regulation on biotechnology, emphasizing that ‘the EU and US already exchange information on policy, regulations and technical issues concerning GMOs’, and that ‘cooperation of this sort helps minimise the effect on trade of our respective systems for approving GMOs’.239
However, the Directorate General for Internal Policies at the European Parliament has highlighted wide divisions between the European Union and the United States on the regulation of the environment.240 The study highlighted the significant prescriptions by the
European Union in respect of GM food labelling:
Regulation No 1829/2003 also requires the labelling of GMOs and products thereof for food use when
they contain, consist of, or are produced from GMOs in a proportion higher than 0.9 per cent of the food
237 Ibid.
238 Ibid.
239 Ibid.
240 Directorate General for Internal Policies at the European Parliament. 2013. Legal Implications of TTIP for the Acquis Communautaire in ENVI Relevant Sectors, European Parliament. [Online]. Available at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/507492/IPOL-
ENVI_ET%282013%29507492_EN.pdf [accessed: 2 April 2014].
69
ingredients considered individually or food consisting of a single ingredient (Art 12(2)). The same
applies for feed containing material where the proportion of GMOs is higher than 0.9 per cent of the feed
and of each feed of which it is composed (Art 24(2)). If the proportion is less than 0.9%, labelling is not
required, provided that the presence of the GMO is adventitious or technically unavoidable. Regulation
(EC) No 1830/2003 sets specific requirements for the traceability of GMOs at each stage of production
and placing on the market, with monitoring of labelling and of the potential effects on human health or
the environment.241
By contrast, the report observed that ‘the US policy framework can be understood as
the product of an ambivalent institutional mission: in the case of food and food crops, for
instance, the FDA has sought simultaneously to ensure food safety and to promote
biotechnology in agriculture’.242
The report noted: ‘While in the EU there is a specific legal framework to regulate
GMOs, whether for food and feed uses or for cultivation, the applicable US legal and
regulatory framework is comparatively basic and limited to non-binding policy statements on the application of existing product-related laws to GMOs’.243 The report stressed: ‘In
addition, while labelling of GMOs and products thereof for food use is mandatory under EU
legislation (if the proportion of GMOs is higher than 0.9 per cent), it is currently only
voluntary under US federal law, although there are early initiatives at the state level to
introduce mandatory labelling for improved consumer information’.244 The study
recommended: ‘In light of the highly differing EU and US regulations applicable to GMOs,
any TTIP provisions which could apply to GMOs should be carefully reviewed, in order not
to inadvertently undermine the stricter EU standards for the authorisation of GMOs (e.g., risk
241 Ibid., 34-35.
242 Ibid., 38.
243 Ibid., 23.
244 Ibid.
70
assessment), as well as transparency of GMO-related information (notably public consultation, register and labelling)’.245
Michael Lipsky, a senior fellow at Demos, has wondered, ‘Will European requirements
for labelling GMO foods survive new trade negotiations?’246 He feared that US and European
negotiators could ‘bargain away a key element in American resistance to GMO foods’.247
Lipsky worried that ‘the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP),
also referred to as a Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), will focus on
“normalizing” regulatory practices that business interests deem limit trade, including the
European approach to genetically modified foods’.248 Lipsky commented:
In international trade negotiations, most often Americans worry that domestic regulatory protections or
special tariffs will be bargained away in the interests of increasing trade overall. In the case of GMO
foods, many Americans have exactly the opposite interest – maintaining the regulatory protections of
foreign trade partners so that the precautionary approach to GMO foods practiced by Europeans remains
intact.249
Lipsky stressed that the European experience was an important counterpoint: ‘For
Americans who believe that people should be able to know whether their food has been
genetically modified, the European experience is a critical reference point’.250 He noted: ‘The
245 Ibid., 27.
246 Lipsky, M. 2013. Will European requirements for labelling for GMO foods survive new trade
negotiations? The Huffington Post, 3 July 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www huffingtonpost.com/michael-
lipsky/will-european-requirement_b_3535795.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
247 Ibid.
248 Ibid.
249 Ibid.
250 Ibid.
71
cautionary European policies toward GMO foods represent clear and tested alternative
approaches to bio-engineering the food supply’.251 Lipsky observed: ‘It is difficult for
opponents of GMO food labelling to marginalize their opponents when virtually every
advanced industrial country except the United States (64 according to a recent count) requires
labelling and subscribes to restrictive GMO policies’.252
There has been much debate over the proposal for the inclusion of an investor-state dispute settlement clause in the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Ska Keller, an MEP with the European/EFA Group has been concerned that investment clauses could be deployed against a range of public regulations:
States are often held back from adopting regulations solely by the threat of lawsuits - this is called the
‘chilling effect’. If an action is pending, host countries often act in line with previous cases, which
includes withdrawing regulations out of fear of having to pay out high levels of compensation later on.253
Keller is particularly concerned about United States companies deploying investment
chapters against European environmental laws. She questions: ‘Should we upend all the
democratic decision-making processes in Europe and cause such a legal shake-up just for
provisions like [investor-state dispute settlement clauses] and the few European companies
who had problems with US American courts?’254 Her preference is to exclude investor-state
251 Ibid.
252 Ibid.
253 Keller, S. 2014. Investor-state lawsuits threaten democracy’, TTIP: Beware what lies beneath, 26
March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://ttip2014.eu/blog- detail/blog/Ska%20Keller%20Investors%20TTIP.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
254 Ibid.
72
dispute settlement clauses from the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
altogether.
Jose Bove – an MEP with the European Green/EFA group – has emphasized the need
to defend the right to healthy, safe food in the negotiations over the Trans-Atlantic Trade an
Investment Partnership.255 He warned that the proposed deal could impact public regulations:
We believe this is an assault on our democratic right to regulate. It could majorly impair our democratic
institutions ability to legislate by creating a ‘chilling effect’ on proposals aimed at enhancing the public
good, but that go against the interests of private companies trading in both regions. It could impact the
extent to which our food is labelled or what processes become acceptable in the making of our food,
among many. The Greens will not accept any trade deal that undermines democratic institutions’ right to
regulate.256
Bove maintained: ‘It is time for all of us, our farming community, our citizens, and
anyone who enjoys safe and healthy food, to become aware of what is being negotiated away-
and to do everything in our power to stop it’.257
There has been much controversy over the possibility of the inclusion of an investor-
state dispute settlement regime in the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.258
255 Bove, J. 2014. We defend the right to healthy, safe food: We won’t trade this away in TTIP, TTIP:
Beware what lies beneath, 26 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://ttip2014.eu/blog- detail/blog/Food%20and%20agriculture.html [accessed: 2 April 2014].
256 Ibid.
257 Ibid.
258 European Commission, 2014 ‘Commission to consult European public on provisions in EU-US trade deal on investment and investor-state dispute settlement’, 21 January 2014, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-
release IP-14-56 en.htm; St. Louis, M. 2014, ‘Public Interest Critique of ISDS: Drastic Increase in Government
Liability’, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, 17 March 2014; Kleinheisterkamp, J. ‘Is there a Need for
73
Glyn Moody has observed that there has been a backlash against the inclusion of
investor-state dispute settlement, around the world.259 He noted that Germany has called for
the repudiation of investment clauses in the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership.
The British environmentalist George Monbiot has written a series of articles about the
Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.260 He raised concerns about the nature of the trade deal, suggesting that it had been captured by transnational corporate elites. Monbiot
Investor-State Arbitration in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)?’ (February 14, 2014),
SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2410188; and Moody, G., 2014, Even the German Government Wants
Corporate Sovereignty out of TAFTA/ TTIP, TechDirt, 17 March 2014,
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140313/10571526568/even-german-government-wants-corporate-
sovereignty-out-taftattip.shtml
259 Moody, G. 2014. Corporate sovereignty provisions called into question around the world. TechDirt, 26
March 2014. [Online]. Available at: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140325/10074526680/corporate- sovereignty-provisions-called-into-question-around-world.shtml [accessed: 2 April 2014].
260 Monbiot, G. 2013. From Obamacare to trade, supervision not subversion is the new and very real threat
to the state. The Guardian, 15 October 2013. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/14/obamacare-trade-superversion-subversion-threat-state
[accessed: 2 April 2014]; Monbiot, G. 2013. The Trans-Atlantic Trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy. The Guardian, 5 November 2013. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/04/us-trade-deal-full-frontal-assault-on-democracy
[accessed: 2 April 2014]; Monbiot, G. 2013. The lies behind this transatlantic trade deal. The Guardian, 3
December 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/02/transatlantic- free-trade-deal-regulation-by-lawyers-eu-us [accessed: 2 April 2014]; and Monbiot, G. 2014. Give and take in the EU-US trade deal? Sure. We give, the corporations take. The Guardian, 11 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/10/eu-us-trade-deal-give-corporations-take [accessed:
2 April 2014].
74
was particularly concerned about the possibility of the inclusion of an investment chapter in
the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.261 Monbiot observed:
Investor-state rules could be used to smash any attempt to save the NHS from corporate control, to re-
regulate the banks, to curb the greed of the energy companies, to renationalise the railways, to leave
fossil fuels in the ground. These rules shut down democratic alternatives. They outlaw leftwing
politics.262
Monbiot was concerned that the treaty would grant big business the remarkable ability
‘to sue the living daylights out of governments which try to defend their citizens’.263 He
warned that the regime ‘would allow a secretive panel of corporate lawyers to overrule the
will of parliament and destroy our legal protections’.264
5. Conclusion
There is a strong case for GM food labelling – particularly in terms of promoting
consumer rights in respect of the right to know about food. Ideally, there should be common
standards in respect of GM food labelling. However, GM food labelling has been a flashpoint
for policy conflict in the United States between consumer groups, environmentalists, the farm
261 Monbiot, G. 2013. The Trans-Atlantic Trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy. The Guardian,
5 November 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/04/us-trade- deal-full-frontal-assault-on-democracy [accessed: 2 April 2014].
262 Ibid.
263 Ibid.
264 Ibid.
75
movement, the food industry and the biotechnology industry. The battles have ranged across
local politics, federal congressional debate, and international trade disputes. As a result, the
state of the law is rather fragmented and fractured. There has been a strong grassroots
movement in the United States, pushing for state initiatives in respect of GM food labelling,
particularly through legislative bills, and citizen initiated ballots. The food industry and
biotechnology industry have sought to thwart such efforts, engaging in lobbying, litigation,
and well-funded public advertising campaigns. There has also been a significant push at a
federal level to legislate in respect of GM food labelling. However, there has been a
significant amount of inertia from the Obama administration, and a lack of consensus in the
United States Congress. There has also been considerable debate as to how the state and
federal GM food labelling initiatives in the United States will be affected by regional trade
agreements. Professor Joseph Stiglitz has warned that ‘there are trade proposals in the works
that threaten to put most Americans on the wrong side of globalization’.265 There has been a concerted push by the Obama Administration to build regional partnerships with the Trans-
Pacific Partnership, and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. There has been much debate as to whether such trade agreements will directly or indirectly undermine public regulation in respect of food labelling – particularly in respect of GM food labelling.
There is a need ensure that consumer rights – particularly in respect of food labelling – are properly respected and recognised in such regional and international trade negotiations.
265 Stiglitz, J. 2014. On the wrong side of globalization. The New York Times, 15 March 2014. [Online].
Available at: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/on-the-wrong-side-of-globalization/ [accessed: 2
April 2014].
76
MARCH 2016
GREENWASHING THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP
The Sum of Us, TPP Hawaii Protests 2015
DR MATTHEW RIMMER PROFESSOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION LAW FACULTY OF LAW QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Queensland University of Technology 2 George Street GPO Box 2434 Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia Work Telephone Number: (07) 31381599 E-Mail Address: [email protected]
1
Executive Summary
This submission provides a critical analysis of Chapter 20 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership dealing with the Environment.
The United States Trade Representative has made bold claims that the TPP will enhance the protection of the environment throughout the Pacific Rim.
In a rather brief and cursory National Interest Analysis, the Australian Government asserts that the TPP will be engaged in ‘promoting high levels of environmental protection, including by liberalising trade in environmental goods and services, and ensuring TPP Parties effectively enforce their domestic environmental laws.’ In its view, ‘TPP Parties must also take measures in relation to a number of important environmental challenges, such as protecting the ozone layer, protecting the marine environment from ship pollution, combatting illegal wildlife trade and combatting overfishing and illegal fishing. Subsidies for fishing that negatively affect overfished stocks and subsidies for vessels engaged in illegal fishing will be prohibited’.
In a somewhat more extensive National Interest analysis, the New Zealand Government has argued that the TPP fulfils its larger environmental objectives. The New Zealand Government maintains that ‘New Zealand’s policy in negotiating environment chapters in trade agreements is guided by four objectives: to promote sustainable development; to ensure trade and environment provisions are mutually supportive; to ensure the Government has the flexibility to regulate for the environment in accordance with national circumstances; and to ensure that environmental provisions are not used as a disguised form of protectionism.’ In its
2 view, ‘The TPP Environment Chapter supports and promotes these objectives and represents the most comprehensive environmental outcome included in any of New Zealand’s FTAs.’
Canada’s Trudeau Government is still engaged in an open consultation about the merits of the
TPP.
There has been much debate about the TPP and the environment in other nations, which have been participating in the TPP negotiations.
A close reading of the text of the TPP reveals that the Environment Chapter fails to provide for sufficient protection in respect of the environment across the Pacific Rim.
Recommendation 1
The Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership provides weak overall
protection of the environment, biodiversity, and the climate in the Pacific Rim.
Recommendation 2
There was a lack of open, transparent, and democratic consultations and
discussions in respect of the Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.
3
Recommendation 3
The Trans-Pacific Partnership fails to reinforce the international framework of multilateral environment agreements.
Recommendation 4
The Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership lacks meaningful enforcement of environmental rules and standards.
Recommendation 5
The Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership does little to protect biodiversity across the Pacific Rim.
Recommendation 6
The Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has weak text on the oceans and marine capture fisheries.
Recommendation 7
The Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership fails to provide for strong protection of conservation.
4
Recommendation 8
The Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has basic text on trade in environmental services. The overall agreement, though, equally promotes the trade in dirty technologies – as much as clean technologies.
Recommendation 9
The Environment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership fails to address the
21st century international environmental problem of climate change. This is problematic, given the interaction between trade and climate change.
Recommendation 10
Other Chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership – dealing with Investment,
Intellectual Property, Development, Technical Barriers to Trade, and Public
Procurement – undermine environmental policy, sustainable development, and climate action.
5
Biography
Dr Matthew Rimmer is a Professor in Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the Faculty of Law, at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He is a leader of the QUT
Intellectual Property and Innovation Law research program, and a member of the QUT
Digital Media Research Centre (QUT DMRC) the QUT Australian Centre for Health Law
Research (QUT ACHLR), and the QUT International Law and Global Governance Research
Program. Rimmer has published widely on copyright law and information technology, patent law and biotechnology, access to medicines, plain packaging of tobacco products, intellectual property and climate change, and Indigenous Intellectual Property. He is currently working on research on intellectual property, the creative industries, and 3D printing; intellectual property and public health; and intellectual property and trade, looking at the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and the Trade in Services
Agreement. His work is archived at SSRN Abstracts and Bepress Selected Works.
Dr Matthew Rimmer holds a BA (Hons) and a University Medal in literature (1995), and a
LLB (Hons) (1997) from the Australian National University. He received a PhD in law from the University of New South Wales for his dissertation on The Pirate Bazaar: The Social Life of Copyright Law (1998-2001). Dr Matthew Rimmer was a lecturer, senior lecturer, and an associate professor at the ANU College of Law, and a research fellow and an associate director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) (2001 to
2015). He was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, working on Intellectual
Property and Climate Change from 2011 to 2015. He was a member of the ANU Climate
Change Institute.
6
Rimmer is the author of Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution: Hands off my iPod (Edward Elgar, 2007). With a focus on recent US copyright law, the book charts the consumer rebellion against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (US) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US). Rimmer explores the significance of key judicial rulings and considers legal controversies over new technologies, such as the iPod,
TiVo, Sony Playstation II, Google Book Search, and peer-to-peer networks. The book also highlights cultural developments, such as the emergence of digital sampling and mash-ups, the construction of the BBC Creative Archive, and the evolution of the Creative Commons.
Rimmer has also participated in a number of policy debates over Film Directors’ copyright, the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, the Copyright Amendment Act 2006
(Cth), the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has been an advocate for Fair IT Pricing in Australia.
Rimmer is the author of Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological
Inventions (Edward Elgar, 2008). This book documents and evaluates the dramatic expansion of intellectual property law to accommodate various forms of biotechnology from micro- organisms, plants, and animals to human genes and stem cells. It makes a unique theoretical contribution to the controversial public debate over the commercialisation of biological inventions. Rimmer also edited the thematic issue of Law in Context, entitled Patent Law and
Biological Inventions (Federation Press, 2006). Rimmer was also a chief investigator in an
Australian Research Council Discovery Project, “Gene Patents In Australia: Options For
Reform” (2003-2005), an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, “The Protection of
Botanical Inventions (2003), and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project,
“Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia” (2009-2011). Rimmer has participated in inquiries into plant breeders’ rights, gene patents, and access to genetic resources.
7
Rimmer is a co-editor of a collection on access to medicines entitled Incentives for Global
Public Health: Patent Law and Access to Essential Medicines (Cambridge University Press,
2010) with Professor Kim Rubenstein and Professor Thomas Pogge. The work considers the intersection between international law, public law, and intellectual property law, and highlights a number of new policy alternatives – such as medical innovation prizes, the
Health Impact Fund, patent pools, open source drug discovery, and the philanthropic work of the (Red) Campaign, the Gates Foundation, and the Clinton Foundation. Rimmer is also a co- editor of Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies: The New Biology (Edward Elgar,
2012).
Rimmer is a researcher and commentator on the topic of intellectual property, public health, and tobacco control. He has undertaken research on trade mark law and the plain packaging of tobacco products, and given evidence to an Australian parliamentary inquiry on the topic.
Rimmer is the author of a monograph, Intellectual Property and Climate Change: Inventing
Clean Technologies (Edward Elgar, September 2011). This book charts the patent landscapes and legal conflicts emerging in a range of fields of innovation – including renewable forms of energy, such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal energy; as well as biofuels, green chemistry, green vehicles, energy efficiency, and smart grids. As well as reviewing key international treaties, this book provides a detailed analysis of current trends in patent policy and administration in key nation states, and offers clear recommendations for law reform. It considers such options as technology transfer, compulsory licensing, public sector licensing, and patent pools; and analyses the development of Climate Innovation Centres, the Eco-
Patent Commons, and environmental prizes, such as the L-Prize, the H-Prize, and the X-
8
Prizes. Rimmer is currently working on a manuscript, looking at green branding, trade mark law, and environmental activism.
Rimmer has also a research interest in intellectual property and traditional knowledge. He has written about the misappropriation of Indigenous art, the right of resale, Indigenous performers’ rights, authenticity marks, biopiracy, and population genetics. Rimmer is the editor of the collection, Indigenous Intellectual Property: A Handbook of Contemporary
Research (Edward Elgar, 2015).
Rimmer has supervised four students who have completed Higher Degree Research on the topics, Secret Business and Business Secrets: The Hindmarsh Island Affair, Information Law, and the Public Sphere (2007); Intellectual Property and Applied Philosophy(2010); The
Pharmacy of the Developing World: Indian Patent Law and Access to Essential
Medicines (2012); and Marine Bioprospecting: International Law, Indonesia and Sustainable
Development (2014). He has also supervised sixty-seven Honours students, Summer
Research Scholars, and Interns, and two graduate research unit Masters students.
9
GREENWASHING THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP:
FOSSIL FUELS, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
MATTHEW RIMMER
There has been much controversy over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a plurilateral
trade agreement involving a dozen nations from throughout the Pacific Rim – and its impact
upon the environment, biodiversity, and climate change.1
The secretive treaty negotiations involve Australia and New Zealand; countries from South
East Asia such as Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan; the South
American nations of Peru and Chile; and the members of the North American Free Trade
Agreement 1994 (NAFTA), Canada, Mexico and the United States.2 There was an agreement
reached between the parties in October 2015.3 The participants asserted: ‘We expect this
historic agreement to promote economic growth, support higher-paying jobs; enhance
innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in our
1 The United States Trade Representative, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership’, https://ustr.gov/tpp/ For
commentary, see Jane Kelsey (ed.), No Ordinary Deal: Unmasking the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade
Agreement, Wellington: Bridget Williams Books Inc., 2010; Tania Voon (ed.), Trade Liberalisation and
International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 2013; C.L. Lim, Deborah Elms and Patrick Low (ed.), The Trans-
Pacific Partnership: A Quest for a Twenty-First Century Trade Agreement, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2012; and Jane Kelsey, Hidden Agendas: What We Need to Know about the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement (TPPA), Wellington: Bridget Williams Books Limited, 2013.
2 North American Free Trade Agreement, 32 I.L.M. 289 and 605 (1993).
3 United States Trade Representative, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Minister’s Statement’, October 2015,
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2015/october/trans-pacific-partnership-
ministers
10
countries; and to promote transparency, good governance, and strong labor and
environmental protections.’4 The final texts of the agreement were published in November
2015.5
There has been discussion as to whether other countries – such as Indonesia,6 the Philippines,
and South Korea – will join the deal. There has been much debate about the impact of this
proposed treaty upon the environment, biodiversity and climate change. There have been
similar concerns about the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – a
proposed trade agreement between the United States and the European Union.7
In 2011, the United States Trade Representative developed a Green Paper on trade,
conservation, and the environment in the context of the TPP.8 In its rhetoric, the United
States Trade Representative has maintained that it has been pushing for strong, enforceable
4 Ibid.
5 The Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-
pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
6 Julie Hirschfeld Davis, ‘President Joko Widodo of Indonesia Joins Trans-Pacific Partnership’, The New
York Times, 26 October 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/us/politics/president-joko-widodo-of-
indonesia-joins-trans-pacific-partnership html
7 United States Trade Representative, ‘Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership’, https://ustr.gov/ttip For commentary, see Glyn Moody, ‘TTIP Updates’, Computer World, 2012-2015
http://www.computerworlduk.com/blogs/open-enterprise/ttip-updates--the-glyn-moody-blogs-3569438/ and
Ferdi De Ville and Gabriel Siles-Brugge, TTIP: The Truth about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership, Cambridge: Polity, 2015.
8 United States Trade Representative, ‘Green Paper on Conservation and the Trans-Pacific Partnership’,
December 2011, http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/ustr-green-paper-conservation-and-
trans-pacific-partnership
11
environmental standards in the TPP. In a key statement in 2014, the United States Trade
Representative Mike Froman maintained: ‘Our proposals in the TPP are centered around the
enforcement of environmental laws, including those implementing multilateral environmental
agreements (MEAs) in TPP partner countries, and also around trailblazing, first-ever conservation proposals that will raise standards across the region’.9 Moreover, the United
States Trade Representative asserted: ‘Furthermore, our proposals would enhance
international cooperation and create new opportunities for public participation in
environmental governance and enforcement.’10
The United States Trade Representative has provided this public outline of the Environment
Chapter of the TPP:
A meaningful outcome on environment will ensure that the agreement appropriately addresses
important trade and environment challenges and enhances the mutual supportiveness of trade and
environment. The Trans-Pacific Partnership countries share the view that the environment text should
include effective provisions on trade-related issues that would help to reinforce environmental
protection and are discussing an effective institutional arrangement to oversee implementation and a
specific cooperation framework for addressing capacity building needs. They also are discussing
proposals on new issues, such as marine fisheries and other conservation issues, biodiversity, invasive
alien species, climate change, and environmental goods and services.11
9 The United States Trade Representative, ‘The United States and Environmental Protections in the
Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 15 January 2014, http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/blog/2014/January/The-
US-and-Environmental-Protections-in-the-TPP
10 Ibid.
11 United States Trade Representative, ‘Outlines of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, November 2011,
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/november/outlines-trans-pacific-partnership-
agreement
12
Mark Linscott, an assistant Trade Representative testified: ‘An environment chapter in the
TPP should strengthen country commitments to enforce their environmental laws and regulations, including in areas related to ocean and fisheries governance, through the effective enforcement obligation subject to dispute settlement.’12 Inside US Trade has
commented: ‘While not initially expected to be among the most difficult areas, the
environment chapter has emerged as a formidable challenge, partly due to disagreement over
the United States proposal to make environmental obligations binding under the TPP dispute
settlement mechanism’.13
Joshua Meltzer from the Brookings Institute contended that the trade agreement could be a boon for the protection of the environment in the Pacific Rim:
Whether it is depleting fisheries, declining biodiversity or reduced space in the atmosphere for
Greenhouse Gas emissions, the underlying issue is resource scarcity. And in a world where an
additional 3 billion people are expected to enter the middle class over the next 15 years, countries need
to find new and creative ways to cooperate in order to satisfy the legitimate needs of their population
for growth and opportunity while using resources in a manner that is sustainable for current and future
generations. The TPP parties already represent a diverse range of developed and developing countries.
Should the TPP become a free trade agreement of the Asia-Pacific region, it will include the main
12 Mark Linscott, ‘Testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global
Competitiveness’, 14 July 2010, http://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/071410mltest.pdf
13 Inside US Trade, ‘Key Areas of Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks at Different Stages After 30 Months of
Effort’, Inside US Trade, 5 September 2012.
13
developed and developing countries and will be a strong basis for building a global consensus on these
trade and environmental issues.14
The TPP has been promoted by its proponents as a boon to the environment. The United
States Trade Representative has maintained that the TPP will protect the environment: ‘The
United States’ position on the environment in the TPP negotiations is this: environmental
stewardship is a core American value, and we will insist on a robust, fully enforceable
environment chapter in the TPP or we will not come to agreement.’15 The United States
Trade Representative discussed ‘Trade for a Greener World’ on World Environment Day.16
Andrew Robb, at the time Australian Trade and Investment Minister, vowed that the TPP will
contain safeguards for the protection of the environment.17
In November 2015, after the release of the TPP text, Rohan Patel, the Special Assistant to the
President and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, sought to defend the
14 Joshua Meltzer, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Environment and Climate Change’, in
Tania Voon (ed.), Trade Liberalisation and International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 2013, 207-230 at 230.
15 Ibid.
16 United States Trade Representative and the United States Department of State, Standing Up for the
Environment: Trade for a Greener World, Washington DC: United States Trade Representative and the United
States Department of State, May 2015, https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/reports-and-
publications/2015/standing-environment-trade
17 Philip Dorling, ‘WikiLeaks Reveals Local Health and Environment Rules under Threat’, The Sydney
Morning Herald, 26 March 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/wikileaks-reveals-
local-health-and-environment-rules-under-threat-20150325-1m7y8d.html
14 environmental credentials of the TPP.18 He contended that the deal had been supported by the
Nature Conservancy, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Joint Ocean
Commission Initiative, the World Wildlife Fund, and World Animal Protection.
The United States Congress, though, has been conflicted about the United States Trade
Representative’s arguments about the TPP and the environment.19 In 2012, members of the
United States Congress - including Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and John Kerry (D-MA) – wrote a letter, arguing that the trade agreement needs to provide strong protection for the environment: ‘We believe that a '21st century agreement' must have an environment chapter that guarantees ongoing sustainable trade and creates jobs, and this is what American businesses and consumers want and expect also.’20 The group stressed that ‘a binding and enforceable TPP environment chapter that stands up for American interests is critical to our support of the TPP’.21 The Congressional leaders maintained: ‘We believe the
2007 bipartisan congressional consensus on environmental provisions included in recent trade agreements should serve as the framework for the environment chapter of the TPP.’22
18 Rohan Patel, ‘What Environmental and Conservation Advocates Are Saying About TPP’s
Environment Chapter’, The White House, 6 November 2015, https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/11/04/what-environmental-and-conservation-advocates-are-saying- about-tpps-environment
19 Ilana Solomon, ‘Senators Agree: Trade Must Protect the Environment’, The Huffington Post, 23
October 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/trans-pacific-partnership- b 1982368 html
20 Ron Wyden and others ‘A Letter to the Honourable Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative’, 17
October 2012 http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/downloads/Wyden-Snowe-TPP-Enviro-Lette-Oct%202012.pdf http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2012/10/senator-tpp-letter html
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
15
Over several years, from 2013 to 2016, senior members of the Democratic leadership
expressed their opposition to granting President Barack Obama a fast-track authority in
respect of the TPP House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said: ‘No on fast-
track – Camp-Baucus – out of the question.’23 Senator Majority leader Harry Reid
commented: ‘I’m against Fast-Track: Everyone would be well-advised not to push this right
now.’24 Senator Elizabeth Warren has been particularly critical of the process and the
substance of the negotiations in the TPP:
From what I hear, Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, telecom, big polluters and outsourcers are all salivating
at the chance to rig the deal in the upcoming trade talks. So the question is, Why are the trade talks
secret? You’ll love this answer. Boy, the things you learn on Capitol Hill. I actually have had
supporters of the deal say to me ‘They have to be secret, because if the American people knew what
was actually in them, they would be opposed.
Think about that. Real people, people whose jobs are at stake, small-business owners who
don’t want to compete with overseas companies that dump their waste in rivers and hire workers for a
dollar a day—those people, people without an army of lobbyists—they would be opposed. I believe if
people across this country would be opposed to a particular trade agreement, then maybe that trade
agreement should not happen.25
23 Vicki Needham, ‘Pelosi Comes Out Againat Fast Track Bill’, The Hill, 12 February 2014, http://thehill.com/homenews/house/198297-pelosi-comes-out-against-fast-track-bill
24 Eric Bradner and Manu Raju, ‘Harry Reid Rejects President Obama’s Trade Push’, Politico, 29 January
2014, http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/harry-reid-barack-obama-trade-deals-102819.html
25 George Zornick, ‘Elizabeth Warren Reveals Inside Details on Trade Talks’, The Nation, 15 May 2014,
http://www.thenation.com/blog/179885/elizabeth-warren-reveals-inside-details-trade-talks See also Elizabeth
Warren, A Fighting Chance, New York: Metropolitan Books, 2014.
16
The Finance Committee in the United States Congress deliberated over the Trans-Pacific
Partnership negotiations in 2014.26 The new committee chair Ron Wyden has argued that
there needs to be greater transparency in trade. Nonetheless, he has mooted the possibility of
a ‘smart-track’ to reconcile the competing demands of the Obama Administration, and United
States Congress.27 Wyden insisted: ‘The new breed of trade challenges spawned over the last
generation must be addressed in imaginative new policies and locked into enforceable,
ambitious, job-generating trade agreements.’28 He emphasized that such agreements ‘must
reflect the need for a free and open Internet, strong labor rights and environmental protections.’29
Elder Democrat Sander Levin warned that the TPP failed to provide proper protection for the
environment:
The TPP parties are considering a different structure to protect the environment than the one adopted in
the May 10 Agreement, which directly incorporated seven multilateral environmental agreements into
the text of past trade agreements. While the form is less important than the substance, the TPP must
provide an overall level of environmental protection that upholds and builds upon the May 10 standard,
including fully enforceable obligations. But many of our trading partners are actively seeking to
26 The United States Senate Committee on Finance, President Obama’s 2014 Trade Policy Agenda, 1
May 2014, http://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=3064b778-5056-a032-523b-0d5505711ac5
27 Ron Wyden, ‘Hearing Statement on Modern Challenges and the Need for Transparency in Trade
Policy’, The United States Committee on Finance, 1 May 2014,
http://www.finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/release/?id=c73c8e64-3615-438f-8187-1babc7bf203f
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
17
weaken the text to the point of falling short of that standard, including on key issues like
conservation.30
Nonetheless, 2015, President Barack Obama was able to secure the overall support of the
United States Congress for his ‘fast-track’ authority.31 This was made possible by the
Republicans and dissident Democrats. Notably, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden switched sides,
and was transformed from a critic of the TPP to an apologist for the TPP.
For their part, green political parties and civil society organisations have been concerned
about the secretive nature of the negotiations; and the substantive implications of the treaty
for the environment. Environmental groups and climate advocates have been sceptical of the
environmental claims made by the White House for the TPP.32 The Green Party of Aotearoa
New Zealand, the Australian Greens and the Green Party of Canada have released a joint declaration on the TPP observing: ‘More than just another trade agreement, the TPP provisions could hinder access to safe, affordable medicines, weaken local content rules for media, stifle high-tech innovation, and even restrict the ability of future governments to
30 Sander Levin, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations: The Need for Congress to Get Fully in the
Game’, Council on Foreign Relations, 18 September 2014.
31 Paul Lewis, ‘Barack Obama Given “Fast-Track” Authority over Trade Deal Negotiations’, The
Guardian, 24 June 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/24/barack-obama-fast-track-trade-
deal-tpp-senate
32 Steven Mufson, ‘Obama’s Environmental Allies Not Buying his Trade Pitch on Climate’, Washington
Post, 16 June 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obamas-environmental-allies-not-
buying-his-trade-pitch-on-climate/2015/06/16/b91964a6-1378-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c story.html
18
legislate for the good of public health and the environment’.33 In the United States, civil
society groups such as the Sierra Club, 34 Public Citizen,35 WWF,36 the Friends of the Earth,37
the Rainforest Action Network38 and 350.org39 have raised concerns about the TPP and the
environment. Allison Chin, President of the Sierra Club, complained about the lack of transparency, due process, and public participation in the TPP talks: ‘This is a stealth affront to the principles of our democracy.’40 Maude Barlow’s The Council of Canadians has also
been concerned about the TPP and environmental justice.41 New Zealand Sustainability
33 The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Australian Greens and the Green Party of Canada,
‘Joint Statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, https://home.greens.org nz/press-releases/joint-statement-
trans-pacific-partnership-agreement-green-party-aotearoa-new-zealand
34 The Sierra Club, ‘Secretive Trade Negotiations Begin in Leesburg’,
Environmentalists, Congress Demand Transparency, 6 September 2012,
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em id=249026.0
35 Public Citizen, http://www.citizen.org/tpp
36 WWF, ‘Promoting Sustainable and Legal Trade’, http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/promoting-
sustainable-and-legal-trade
37 Friends of the Earth, http://www.foe.org/projects/economics-for-the-earth/trade/trans-pacific-
partnership
38 Rainforest Action Network, http://understory.ran.org/tag/trans-pacific-partnership/
39 350.org, ‘Say no to Corporate Power Grabs: Reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, http://campaigns.350.org/petitions/say-no-to-corporate-power-grabs-reject-the-trans-pacific-partnership
40 Allison Chin, ‘The TPP Trade Pact: An Affront to Democracy’, the Sierra Club, 9 September 2012,
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2012/09/tpp-allison-chin.html
41 The Council of Canadians, http://www.canadians.org/trade/issues/TPP/index html See in particular the
work of the chair of the Council of Canadians, Maude Barlow: Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, Blue Gold: The
Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water, New York and London: The New Press, 2002; Maude
Barlow, Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water, New York: The
New Press, 2007; and Maude Barlow, Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever,
19
Council executive director Simon Terry said the agreement showed ‘minimal real gains for
nature’.42 A number of organisations have joined a grand coalition of civil society organisations, which are opposed to the grant of a fast-track.43
On the 15th January 2013, WikiLeaks released the draft Environment Chapter of the TPP44 -
along with a report by the Chairs of the Environmental Working Group. Julian Assange,
WikiLeaks' publisher, stated: ‘Today's WikiLeaks release shows that the public sweetener in
the TPP is just media sugar water.’45 He observed: ‘The fabled TPP environmental chapter
turns out to be a toothless public relations exercise with no enforcement mechanism.’46 This
article provides a critical examination of the Environment Chapter of the TPP – both the
leaked drafts and the final text. The overall argument of the article is that the Environment
Chapter of the TPP is an exercise in greenwashing – it is a public relations exercise by the
Toronto and New York: The New Press, 2013. Matthew Rimmer, ‘Blue Future: Maude Barlow, Water Rights,
Investor Clauses, and Trade Deals’, Medium, 5 August 2014, https://medium.com/@DrRimmer/blue-future-
maude-barlow-water-rights-investor-clauses-and-trade-deals-8d2cd4a8adb8 and InfoJustice, 5 August
2014,http://infojustice.org/archives/33100
42 Nicky Hager, ‘Leak Reveals Ongoing TPP Tussles’, NZ Herald, 16 January 2014, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c id=3&objectid=11187155 See also Simon Terry, ‘TPP
Backers Have Questions to Answer’, NZ Herald, 24 February 2015,
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c id=466&objectid=11406607 and Simon Terry, ‘The
Environment under TPPA Governance’, The New Zealand Law Council, January 2016,
https://tpplegal.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/ep4-environment.pdf
43 Stop Fast Track, https://www.stopfasttrack.com/
44 WikiLeaks, ‘WikiLeaks Release of Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment Chapter
Consolidated Text’, 24 November 2013, https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid.
20
United States Trade Representative, rather than a substantive regime for the protection of the
environment in the Pacific Rim.
Greenwashing has long been a problem in commerce, in which companies making
misleading and deceptive claims about the environment. In his 2012 book, Greenwash: Big
Brands and Carbon Scams, Guy Pearse considers the rise of green marketing and
greenwashing.47 Government greenwashing is also a significant issue. In his book Storms of
My Grandchildren, the climate scientist James Hansen raises his concerns about government
greenwashing.48 Such a problem is apparent with the TPP – in which there was a gap
between the assertions of the United States Government, and the reality of the agreement.
This article contends that the TPP fails to meet the expectations created by President Barack
Obama, the White House, and the United States Trade Representative about the
environmental value of the agreement. First, this piece considers the relationship of the TPP
to multilateral environmental treaties. Second, it explores whether the provisions in respect of
the environment are enforceable. Third, this article examines the treatment of trade and
biodiversity in the TPP. Fourth, this study considers the question of marine capture fisheries.
Fifth, there is an evaluation of the cursory text in the TPP on conservation. Sixth, the article
considers trade in environmental services under the TPP. Seventh, this article highlights the
tensions between the TPP and substantive international climate action. It is submitted that the
47 Guy Pearse, Greenwash: Big Brands and Carbon Scams, Collingwood, Melbourne: Black Inc., 2012.
This book was marketed and released under a different title in the United States: Guy Pearse, The Greenwash
Effect: Corporate Deception, Celebrity Environmentalist, and What Big Business Isn’t Telling You About their
Green Products and Brands, New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2014.
48 James Hansen, Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and
Our Last Chance to Save Humanity, New York, Berlin, and London: Bloomsbury, 2009.
21
TPP undermines effective and meaningful government action and regulation in respect of
climate change. The conclusion also highlights that a number of other chapters of the TPP
will impact upon the protection of the environment – including the Investment Chapter, the
Intellectual Property Chapter, the Technical Barriers to Trade Chapter, and the text on public
procurement.
1. The Relationship of the TPP to Multilateral Environmental Treaties
White House TPP Social Media Campaign
The United States Trade Representative, Michael Froman, has maintained: ‘Our values also
tell us that the future global economy should be more sustainable than it is today.’49 He
maintained that the Environment Chapter of the TPP would establish high standards of
49 Michael Froman, ‘A Values-Driven Trade Policy: Remarks by Ambassador Froman at the Center for
American Progress’, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 18 February 2014,
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2014/February/A-Values-Driven-Trade-
Policy Remarks-by-USTR-Froman-at-Center-for-American-P
22 protection: ‘We are working to set the world’s highest standards in the environment chapters of our trade agreements’.50 Froman commented: ‘As we do with labor provisions, we have insisted that environmental commitments be on equal footing with commercial obligations.51 He vowed: ‘Commitments to protect endangered species, for example, must be taken just as seriously as commitments to lower tariffs and protect intellectual property, including being subject to enforceable dispute settlement’.52 Froman contended: ‘Even as we push to raise the bar on environmental protections in new ways, we continue to insist that countries live up to commitments they’ve made in their own laws implementing their
MEAs.’53 He observed: ‘These include but are not limited to the Convention on International
Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), the Montreal protocol which covers ozone-depleting substances, and the MARPOL agreement which governs marine pollution from ships’.54 In his view, ‘the United States is standing firm on logging regulations, pollution control and other key issues where we’ve always led the way’. 55
Coral Davenport, the environmental correspondent for The New York Times, broke the story of the WikiLeaks’ publication of the TPP.56 She observed: ‘The Obama administration is retreating from previous demands of strong international environmental protections in order
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid.
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56 Coral Davenport, ‘Administration is Seen as Retreating on Environment in Talks on Pacific Trade’,
The New York Times, 15 January 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/politics/administration-is-seen- as-retreating-on-environment-in-talks-on-pacific-trade html? r=1
23
to reach agreement on a sweeping Pacific trade deal that is a pillar of President Obama’s
strategic shift to Asia.’57 Davenport noted: ‘The negotiations over the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, which would be one of the world’s biggest trade agreements, have exposed deep rifts over environmental policy between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations.’58 She stressed: ‘As it stands now, the documents, viewed by The New York Times,
show that the disputes could undo key global environmental protections.’59
The joint analysis by the Sierra Club, WWF, and NRDC is highly critical of the language in
the TPP on multilateral environmental treaties.60 The leading environmental groups comment
that the language represents a regression from previous trade deals:
Article SS.4 on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)—agreements between a set of
governments designed to protect the environment—represents a clear step back from the May 2007
bipartisan agreement on trade. In that agreement, Congress and the Bush Administration agreed to
“incorporate a specific list of multilateral environmental agreements” in its free trade agreements
(FTAs) and to commit Parties to “adopt, maintain, and implement” the laws, regulations, and all other
measures to fulfill its obligations under each MEA.
Critically, the May 2007 Agreement also stipulated that obligations to uphold commitments
made under MEAs must be binding and subject to dispute settlement. As the United States government
said in the 2007 agreement, “the United States takes seriously its obligations under these MEAs. We
have nothing to fear from taking on FTA commitments for these agreements as well and subjecting
those commitments to the FTA dispute settlement process where trade or investment are affected.”
57 Ibid.
58 Ibid.
59 Ibid.
60 Sierra Club, WWF, and NRDC, ‘Analysis of Leaked Environment Chapter Consolidated Text’, 15
January 2014, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-
wysiwig/TPP Enviro Analysis.pdf
24
The obligation to uphold commitments made under MEAs and subject those commitments to
the same dispute settlement procedures as commercial obligations is critical. It helps give parity to
environmental and commercial obligations in trade agreements. More fundamentally, it helps ensure
that countries do not waive or weaken their obligations under MEAs in order to attract trade or
investment, and ensures that a country faces consequences if it does.61
The environmental groups lamented that the leaked text takes a significant step back from the
May 2007 agreement: ‘Instead of committing TPP countries to “adopt, maintain, and
implement” the laws, regulations, and all other measures to fulfill its obligations under MEAs and subject those obligations to dispute settlement, each TPP country is merely committed to
“affirm its commitment” to implement the MEAs to which it is a Party (Article SS.4.1).’62
In October 2015, the text of the TPP was agreed to by negotiating parties. In November
2015, the final text of the TPP was published. Article 20.2 of the TPP deals with the
objectives of the Environment Chapter.63 Article 20.2.1 of the TPP provides: ‘The
objectives of this Chapter are to promote mutually supportive trade and environmental
policies; promote high levels of environmental protection and effective enforcement of
environmental laws; and enhance the capacities of the Parties to address trade-related
environmental issues, including through cooperation.’64Article 20.2.2 emphasizes: ‘Taking
account of their respective national priorities and circumstances, the Parties recognize that
enhanced cooperation to protect and conserve the environment and sustainably manage
61 Ibid.
62 Ibid.
63 Article 20.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
64 Article 20.2.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
25 their natural resources brings benefits that can contribute to sustainable development, strengthen their environmental governance and complement the objectives of this
Agreement.’ 65 Article 20.2.3 is suspicious, though, of protectionist behaviour: ‘The Parties further recognise that it is inappropriate to establish or use their environmental laws or other measures in a manner which would constitute a disguised restriction on trade or investment between the Parties.’66 Article 20.3 addresses general commitments of the parties – including ‘the importance of mutually supportive trade and environmental policies and practices to improve environmental protection in the furtherance of sustainable development.’67 There is a gap between the aspirations of the objectives and commitments of the Environment Chapter of the TPP, and the weak text of the agreement itself.
Article 20.4 deals with multilateral environmental agreements.68 Article 20.4.1 provides that ‘The Parties recognise that multilateral environmental agreements to which they are party play an important role, globally and domestically, in protecting the environment and that their respective implementation of these agreements is critical to achieving the environmental objectives of these agreements’.69 Article 20.4.1 also acknowledges:
65 Article 20.2.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
66 Article 20.2.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
67 Article 20.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
68 Article 20.4 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
69 Article 20.4.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
26
‘Accordingly, each Party affirms its commitment to implement the multilateral environmental agreements to which it is a party.’70 Article 20.4.2 discusses mutual supportiveness: ‘The Parties emphasise the need to enhance the mutual supportiveness between trade and environmental law and policies, through dialogue between the Parties on trade and environmental issues of mutual interest, particularly with respect to the negotiation and implementation of relevant multilateral environmental agreements and trade agreements.’71 This language of recognition, affirmation, and dialogue seems to be quite weak in dealing with the multilateral commitments of nation states in respect of environmental agreements.
Somewhat surprisingly, the final text of TPP does explicitly address the protection of the ozone layer in Article 20.5.72 Article 20.5.1 provides that ‘the Parties recognise that emissions of certain substances can significantly deplete and otherwise modify the ozone layer in a manner that is likely to result in adverse effects on human health and the environment.’73 Article 20.5.1 emphasizes that ‘each Party shall take measures to control the production and consumption of, and trade in, such substances.’74 Article 20.5.2 insists that
70 Article 20.4.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
71 Article 20.4.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
72 Article 20.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
73 Article 20.5.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
74 Article 20.5.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
27
‘the Parties also recognise the importance of public participation and consultation, in
accordance with their respective law or policy, in the development and implementation of
measures concerning the protection of the ozone layer’.75 Article 20.5.2 observes: ‘Each
Party shall make publicly available, appropriate information about its programmes and
activities, including cooperative programmes, that are related to ozone layer protection.’76
Article 20.5.3 discusses co-operation on matters of mutual interest related to ozone-depleting
substances – including ‘environmentally friendly alternatives to ozone-depleting substances’,
‘refrigerant management practices, policies and programmes’; ‘methodologies for
stratospheric ozone measurements’; and ‘combating illegal trade in ozone-depleting
substances.’77
Michael Brune of the Sierra Club maintained that the United States Congress should reject
the polluter-friendly TPP.78 He lamented: ‘Despite widespread, international opposition, the
United States government is moving toward signing a trade deal that threatens our families,
our communities, and our environment.’79 Brune observed that ‘we know enough about the
pact to understand that, if passed, it would undermine decades of environmental progress and
75 Article 20.5.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
76 Article 20.5.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
77 Article 20.5.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
78 Sierra Club, ‘Sierra Club: Congress Should Reject Polluter-Friendly Trans-Pacific Partnership’, Press
Release, 5 October 2015, http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/10/sierra-club-congress-should-reject-
polluter-friendly-trans-pacific
79 Ibid.
28
threaten our climate.’80 He commented: ‘Congress must stand up for American jobs, clean air
and water, and a healthy climate and environment by rejecting the TPP.’81
A grand alliance of Green Groups demanded that the United States Congress vote against the
TPP unless it included rules in the environment chapter with binding obligations.82 The group
called for the inclusion of ‘All of the ‘May 10th’ standards, which are also all included in the
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015.’83 The Green Groups demanded:
The binding obligation to uphold commitments made under all seven MEAs and subjecting those
commitments to the same dispute settlement procedures as commercial obligations is critical. It helps
give parity to environmental and commercial obligations in trade agreements. More fundamentally, it
helps ensure that countries do not waive or weaken their obligations under MEAs in order to attract
trade or investment and that a country faces consequences if it does weaken its safeguards To that end,
since the May 10thagreement all U.S. free trade pacts have required countries to “adopt, maintain, and
implement” the laws, regulations, and all other measures to fulfill its obligations under a set of seven
multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and subject those commitments to the FTA dispute
settlement process.84
80 Ibid.
81 Ibid.
82 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice,
Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Sustain US, ‘Re:
Environmental Provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 29 October 2015,
https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/tpp%20letter%20final 0.pdf
83 Ibid.
84 Ibid.
29
The Green Groups maintained that ‘The TPP must include all of the May 10th obligations,
including that countries shall adopt, maintain, and implement its obligations under the
following specified agreements: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); The Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer; The Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for
the Prevention of Pollution from Ships; The Convention on Wetlands of International
Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (The Ramsar Convention); The International
Convention for the Regulation of Whaling; The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources; and The Convention for the Establishment of an Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission.’85 Moreover, the Green Groups insisted that compliance with the
Minamata Convention on Mercury be made mandatory under the TPP.86
2. Enforcement
USTR TPP Social Media Campaign
85 Ibid.
86 Ibid.
30
The United States Trade Representative, Michael Froman, insisted that the TPP would have
strong enforcement mechanisms for the Environment Chapter of the TPP: ‘U.S. negotiators
have made clear where we don’t agree with weaker TPP proposals on environmental provisions, and just how serious we are about making sure that the obligations in the environmental chapter are subject to the same enforcement processes as obligations elsewhere in the TPP, including recourse to trade sanctions’. 87
Michael Froman, insisted that the agreement would promote enforcement of environmental
standards: ‘We are asking our trading partners to commit to effectively enforce
environmental laws, including those laws implementing multilateral environmental
agreements – and we are committed to making sure our partners follow through.’ 88 He commented that the TPP ‘encourages [the trading partners of the United States] to take a more sustainable approach to development and it levels the playing field for those companies, including American companies, who maintain high standards for their workers and the communities where they operate.’89
In 2012, members of the United States Congress - including Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR),
Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Kerry (D-MA) – insisted that the effective enforcement of
multilateral environmental agreements was critical to the TPP:
87 Michael Froman, ‘A Values-Driven Trade Policy: Remarks by Ambassador Froman at the Center for
American Progress’, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 18 February 2014, https://ustr.gov/about-
us/policy-offices/press-office/blog/2014/January/The-US-and-Environmental-Protections-in-the-TPP
88 Ibid.
89 Ibid.
31
The environment chapters in recent U.S. trade agreements strengthened by the 2007 bipartisan
agreement include a) the effective enforcement of multilateral environmental agreements with a clear
trade nexus, b) the non-derogation from a party’s environmental laws, and c) the application of dispute
settlement provisions to the environmental obligations in the same manner as commercial obligations.
These elements are critical to ensuring accountability between trading partners and higher standards for
environmental protection that benefits the economies of both the United States and our trading
partners.90
There has also been concern about the enforcement of the environment chapter. There is a lack of consensus amongst the negotiating parties about dispute resolution over environmental matters.
In March 2015, Brian Deese, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, and Christy
Goldfuss, Managing Director at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, asserted that ‘we plan to make those environmental commitments fully enforceable in the core of the
TPP agreement, on equal footing with the economic obligations our trading partners take on.’91
In its analysis, WikiLeaks observed: ‘The Environment Chapter does not include enforcement mechanisms serving the defence of the environment; it is vague and weak, and adheres to the
90 Ron Wyden and others ‘A Letter to the Honourable Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative’, 17
October 2012 http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/downloads/Wyden-Snowe-TPP-Enviro-Lette-Oct%202012.pdf http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2012/10/senator-tpp-letter html
91 Brian Deese and Christy Goldfuss, ‘What They’re Saying: Environmental Advocates Point to the
Trans-Pacific Partnership as a Historic Opportunity to Protect our Oceans, Forests, and Wildlife’, White House
Blog, 31 March 2015, https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/03/31/what-theyre-saying-environmental- advocates-point-trans-pacific-partnership-historic-
32
lowest common denominator of environmental interests’.92 Ilana Solomon of the Sierra Club
commented: ‘It rolls back key standards set by Congress to ensure that the environment
chapters are legally enforceable, in the same way the commercial parts of free-trade
agreements are’.93 Carter Roberts, president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund, said: ‘The
lack of fully-enforceable environmental safeguards means negotiators are allowing a unique
opportunity to protect wildlife and support legal sustainable trade of renewable resources to
slip through their fingers’.94 Professor Jane Kelsey of the University of Auckland said:
‘Instead of a 21st century standard of protection, the leaked text shows that the obligations
are weak and compliance with them is unenforceable’, commented.95 New Zealand Green
Party MP Gareth Hughes commented: ‘There is a double standard with weak enforcement
measures for breaching environmental rules, but strong enforcement measures in areas like
mining and copyright’. 96
92 WikiLeaks, ‘WikiLeaks Release of Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment Chapter
Consolidated Text’, 24 November 2013, https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/
93 Coral Davenport, ‘Administration is Seen as Retreating on Environment in Talks on Pacific Trade’,
The New York Times, 15 January 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/politics/administration-is-seen-
as-retreating-on-environment-in-talks-on-pacific-trade html? r=1
94 Ibid.
95 Jane Kelsey, ‘TPPA Environment Chapter and Chair’s Commentary Posted by Wikileaks – Issues for
NZ’, 16 January 2014, http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TPPA-Environment-
Chapter.pdf See also Jane Kelsey, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Toothless Environment Chapter gets the
Wikileaks Treatment’, The Conversation, 23 January 2014, https://theconversation.com/trans-pacific-
partnerships-toothless-environment-chapter-gets-the-wikileaks-treatment-22135
96 Gareth Hughes MP, ‘Government failing the environment in TPP talks - Green Party media release’,
Press Release, 16 January 2014.
33
Peter Lehner, executive director of the NRDC, commented: ‘Environmental protections are
only as effective as their enforcement provisions, and a trade agreement with weak
enforcement language will do little or nothing to protect our communities and wildlife.’97
He observed: ‘Starting with the Bush administration, the United States has insisted that all
trade pacts include enforceable environmental protections, and we should settle for nothing
less in the TPP.’98 He maintained: ‘Considering the dire state of many fisheries and forests
in the Asia-Pacific region and the myriad threats to endangered wildlife, we need a modern
trade agreement with real teeth, not just empty rhetoric.’99
The joint analysis by the Sierra Club, WWF, and NRDC is highly critical of the language in the TPP laments the lack of enforcement in respect of environmental obligations.100 The
groups observe that ‘Article SS.12 on Consultation/Dispute Resolution represents an enormous rollback from the dispute resolution process laid out in the May 2007 agreement and, therefore, from recent FTAs’.101 The environmental leaders cited the May 2007
Congressional agreement, which stipulated that ‘all of our FTA environmental obligations
will be enforced on the same basis as the commercial provisions of our agreements— same remedies, procedures, and sanctions’.102 The groups noted: ‘Therefore, as a result of the May
97 NRDC, ‘Green Groups: Leaked Trans-Pacific Partnership Environment Chapter Unacceptab;e’, Press
Release, 14 January 2014, http://www nrdc.org/media/2014/140115.asp
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid.
100 Sierra Club, WWF, and NRDC, ‘Analysis of Leaked Environment Chapter Consolidated Text’, 15
January 2014, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-
wysiwig/TPP Enviro Analysis.pdf
101 Ibid.
102 Ibid.
34
2007 agreement, violations of the obligations in the environment chapter could be treated just as violations of commercial chapters of the agreement.’103 The civil society groups lamented
that the TPP failed to honour this May 2007 agreement:
The consolidated text of the TPP environment chapter, however, sends countries back to a pre-2007
world. If one county suspects a potential violation of the TPP environment chapter, a Party can
request consultations with another Party (Article SS.12.1); set up a Committee to review the issue
(Article SS.12.2); and refer the issue to relevant Ministers of consulting Parties (Article SS.12.3). If
the issue remains unresolved, a Party can request an arbitral tribunal which would consider the matter
(Article SS.12.4) and present the disputing Parties a report (ArticleSS.12.11). If the arbitral panel
finds that one of the Parties has failed to comply with its obligations in the environment chapter, the
Parties “shall endeavor” to agree on a “mutually satisfactory action plan” (Article SS.12.12).104
The leading environmental groups lament: ‘Unfortunately, the process in the consolidated
text ends here, with a final report and an action plan.’105 The civil society groups
comment: ‘If the action plan is ignored or not implemented adequately, there is no
recourse’.106 The environmental groups conclude: ‘This vastly insufficient process is an
unacceptable rollback of previous commitments and renders the obligations in this chapter
virtually meaningless.’107
In November 2015, the final text of the TPP was published. There is a mismatch between
the rhetorical emphasis upon enforcement by the participants, and the actual text. Article
103 Ibid.
104 Ibid.
105 Ibid.
106 Ibid.
107 Ibid.
35
20.2 of the TPP speaks of the need to ‘promote high levels of environmental protection and effective enforcement of environmental laws’.108
Article 20.19 establishes an Environment Committee and Contact Points.109 Article 20.20 deals with consultations on the environment.110 Article 20.21 deals with senior representative consultations.111 Article 20.22 concerns ministerial consultations.112 Article
20.23 deals with dispute settlement.113 Article 20.23.1 observes: ‘If the consulting Parties have failed to resolve the matter under Article 20.20 (Environmental Consultations),
Article 20.21 (Senior Representative Consultations) and Article 20.22 (Ministerial
Consultations) within 60 days after the date of receipt of a request under Article 20.20
(Environmental Consultations), or any other period as the consulting Parties may agree, the requesting Party may request consultations under Article 28.5 (Consultations) or request the establishment of a panel under Article 28.7 (Establishment of a Panel).’114
108 Article 20.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
109 Article 20.19 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
110 Article 20.20 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
111 Article 20.21 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
112 Article 20.22 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
113 Article 20.23 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
114 Article 20.23.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
36
With the announcement of an agreement in October 2015, Michael Brune of the Sierra Club
commented: ‘The TPP’s environment chapter might look nice on the surface but will be
hollow on the inside, and history gives us no reason to believe that TPP rules on conservation
challenges such as the illegal timber or wildlife trade will ever be enforced.’ 115
Emma Gibson, Head of Program for Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: ‘What we are seeing is mere lip service to environmental protection from the parties to the agreement, which has been touted as the largest ever free trade deal.’116 She lamented: ‘Given the scope of the
agreement and the time it has taken to negotiate, there is a complete lack of leadership and
vision where it comes to environmental protection.’117 Gibson highlighted the lack of
appropriate protection of the environment: ‘The chapter on the environment is deeply
disappointing because there are no new standards for environmental protection, merely a
reinforcement of existing national and multilateral laws.’118 She noted: ‘There are no new
enforcement mechanisms to ensure that countries uphold their own environmental standards,
and the mechanisms to enhance environmental performance are only voluntary.’119
115 Sierra Club, ‘Sierra Club: Congress Should Reject Polluter-Friendly Trans-Pacific Partnership’, Press
Release, 5 October 2015, http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/10/sierra-club-congress-should-reject-
polluter-friendly-trans-pacific
116 Greenpeace Australia, ‘TPP environmental provisions a major disappointment’, 6 November 2015,
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/mediacentre/media-releases/climate/TPP-environmental-provisions-a-
major-disappointment/
117 Ibid.
118 Ibid.
119 Ibid.
37
A Coalition of Green Groups called upon the United States Congress to reject the TPP – unless there was meaningful enforcement of environmental rules and standards. 120 It noted:
‘Strong obligations with weak or no enforcement would render the chapter meaningless’.121
The group observed: ‘Our organizations are also extremely concerned that the provisions agreed to in the environment chapter will not be enforced.’122 The green groups commented:
‘The United States has never once brought a trade dispute against another country for failing to live up to its environmental obligations in trade deals even when there has been documented evidence of non-compliance with environmental obligations.’123 In particular, there was concern about the failure by the United States Trade Representative to take action under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement to combat the problem of illegal logging.
The Green groups contended that ‘given the failure of the current dispute settlement system to monitor and address issues of non-compliance, we urge a new approach to dispute settlement resolution for environmental complaints’.124 The Coalition suggested: ‘One approach could be to establish and empower an independent body to continuously monitor countries’ compliance with environment chapter obligations, report on best-practices and
120 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice,
Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Sustain US, ‘Re:
Environmental Provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 29 October 2015, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/tpp%20letter%20final 0.pdf
121 Ibid.
122 Ibid.
123 Ibid.
124 Ibid.
38 compliance, and bring cases directly to a dispute settlement body if and when it finds non- compliance with environmental obligations.’125
125 Ibid.
39
3. Trade and Biodiversity
USTR TPP Social Media Campaign
There has been concern about the efficacy of the multilateral framework for the protection of biodiversity.126
The Pacific Rim features a rich and diverse environment, with ecosystems such as the Great
Barrier Reef,127 The Amazon and a third of all the threatened species on earth.
The United States Trade Representative, Michael Froman, has argued that the TPP will protect biodiversity hot-spots:
Through our negotiations, we are seeking to address conservation challenges that are particularly
prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region. Our TPP partners include many ‘biodiversity hotspots’ some of
126 Charles Lawson, Regulating Genetic Resources: Access and Benefit Sharing in International Law,
Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (MA, USA): Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012.
127 Iain McCalman, The Reef: A Passionate History, Melbourne: Penguin Books, 2013.
40
which have served as conduits for illegal trade and smuggling in threatened animal, timber, plant and
marine species. “This makes TPP a unique opportunity to improve regional cooperation and
enforcement of the rules of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),
from the islands of Southeast Asia to the interior of Vietnam, from the forests of Chile and Peru to the
plains of Australia. Whether protecting big-leaf mahogany or tigers, sharks and chinchillas, stronger
legal frameworks, more cooperation, and better enforcement will improve the chances that these
species survive. 128
Froman has maintained: ‘Similarly, the broader U.S. proposals on conservation, also detailed
in our Green Paper, would elevate other TPP countries’ commitments toward our own
congressionally-set standards on issues such as the conservation of wildlife, forests, and
protected areas.’129
In 2012, members of the United States Congress - including Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR),
Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Kerry (D-MA) – emphasized the need for biodiversity protection and environmental conservation:
An agreement that is good for American businesses, good for the environment, creates jobs, and keeps
the playing field across the Pacific region can only be achieved by strengthened the legal and
sustainable trade of natural resources and combating trade in illegal timber, fish, and wildlife. Without
128 Michael Froman, ‘A Values-Driven Trade Policy: Remarks by Ambassador Froman at the Center for
American Progress’, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 18 February 2014, https://ustr.gov/about-
us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2014/February/A-Values-Driven-Trade-Policy Remarks-by-USTR-
Froman-at-Center-for-American-P
129 Michael Froman, ‘The United States and Environmental Protections in the TPP,’ US Trade
Representative Blog, 16 January 2014, https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-
office/blog/2014/January/The-US-and-Environmental-Protections-in-the-TPP
41
such provisions, the rich biodiversity of the Pacific Rim and the legitimate businesses and good jobs it
sustains will continue to be threatened, ultimately undermining legal trade and the U.S. economy.130
Draft Article SS.13 of the Environment Chapter of the TPP addresses the topic of trade and
biodiversity.131 The language echoes some of the key principles in the Convention on
Biological Diversity 1992,132 the Bonn Guidelines 2002,133 and the Nagoya Protocol 2010.134
Draft Article SS. 13 (1) of the TPP recognises the ‘importance of conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity and their key role in achieving sustainable
development’.135 The text promotes access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing, and the
protection of Indigenous Knowledge.
130 Ron Wyden and others ‘A Letter to the Honourable Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative’, 17
October 2012 http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/downloads/Wyden-Snowe-TPP-Enviro-Lette-Oct%202012.pdf
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2012/10/senator-tpp-letter html
131 WikiLeaks, ‘WikiLeaks Release of Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment Chapter
Consolidated Text’, 24 November 2013, https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/
132 Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, opened for signature 5 June 1992, 1760 U.N.T.S. 79 (entered into force 29 December 1993).
133 Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits
Arising out of their Utilization, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2002.
134 Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits
Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (‘Nagoya Protocol’) Adopted 29
October 2010, opened for signature 2 February 2011 to 1 February 2012.
135 WikiLeaks, ‘WikiLeaks Release of Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment Chapter
Consolidated Text’, 24 November 2013, https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/
42
Draft article SS 13 (2) provides that ‘the Parties are committed to promoting and encouraging the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and sharing in a fair and equitable way the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources.’136
Draft article SS13 (3) emphasizes that ‘the Parties reiterate their commitment to, subject to
national legislation, respecting, preserving and maintaining the knowledge, innovations, and
practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for
the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and encourage the equitable
sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and
practices.’137
Draft article 13 (4) emphasizes that ‘The Parties recognize the sovereign rights of States over
their natural resources, and that the authority to determine access to genetic resources rests
with the national governments and is subject to national legislation.’138
Draft article 13.5 stresses: ‘The Parties recognize that, subject to national legislation, access
to genetic resources for their utilization, where granted, should be subject to the prior
informed consent of the Party providing such resources, unless otherwise determined by that
Party’.139 The provision maintains that ‘The Parties further recognize that benefits arising
from the utilization of these genetic resources should be shared in a fair and equitable way’. It
stresses that ‘Such sharing should be upon mutually agreed terms.’140
136 Ibid.
137 Ibid.
138 Ibid.
139 Ibid.
140 Ibid.
43
Draft article 13.6 maintains that ‘The Parties also recognize the importance of public participation and consultations, as provided for by domestic law or policy, on matters concerning the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity’.141 It suggests: ‘Each
Party should make publicly available information about its programs and activities, including cooperative programs, related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.’142
Draft article 13.7 promotes co-operative activity: ‘The Parties are committed to enhance their cooperative efforts in areas of mutual interest related to biological diversity, including through Article SS.10 (Cooperation). Cooperation may include, but is not limited to, exchanging information and experiences in areas related to: (a) the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity; (b) the protection and maintenance of ecosystem and ecosystem services; and (c) the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources.’143
The United States has provided opposition to this text on the basis that it is not a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992. As such, the TPP will do little to protect the magnificent biodiversity of the Pacific Rim.
On the topic of biodiversity, Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland was critical of the failure of the Environment Chapter of the TPP to properly address Indigenous
141 Ibid.
142 Ibid.
143 Ibid.
44
rights.144 She commented: ‘Prior consent to accessing genetic resources and fair and
equitable sharing of the benefits in paragraph 5 relates to the state, not to indigenous peoples
or local communities.’145 Such an approach is less than what is required under the
Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, the Bonn Guidelines 2001, and the Nagoya
Protocol 2010. Moreover, Kelsey observed: ‘This falls far short of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007.’146 The problem is further compounded by the final version of the Intellectual Property Chapter of the TPP.147 The final text has only soft
language about co-operation by nation states in respect of the protection of traditional
knowledge. Little wonder Maori groups and communities are challenging the validity and
legitimacy of the TPP under the Treaty of Waitangi 1840.148
In a letter to the United States Trade Representative in July 2015, a group of 19 House
Democrats led by Earl Blumenauer expressed concerns about the environment chapter of the
TPP.149 The group highlighted that the ‘TPP countries represent some of the most resource-
rich regions in the world.’150 The House Democrats warned: ‘From Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
144 Jane Kelsey, ‘TPPA Environment Chapter and Chair’s Commentary Posted by Wikileaks – Issues
for NZ’, 16 January 2014, http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TPPA-Environment-
Chapter.pdf
145 Ibid.
146 Ibid.
147 WikiLeaks, ‘TPP Treaty: Intellectual Property Rights Chapter’, 5 October 2015,
https://wikileaks.org/tpp-ip3/
148 TPP Legal, ‘Waitangi Tribunal Claim’, 23 August 2015,
https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/waitangi-tribunal-claim/
149 Earl Blumenauer and others, ‘Letter to Ambassador Michael Froman on the TPP Environment
Chapter’, 29 July 2015 http://blumenauer.house.gov/images/pdf/072915 letter TPP.pdf
150 Ibid.
45
to the Peruvian Amazon to Chile’s Patagonia wilderness to the rich Pacific Ocean that ties all
TPP countries together, we cannot forego an opportunity to improve environmental
protections, enforce conservation standards, and prohibit the illegal trade in wildlife, forest,
and living marine resources to a degree that no level of foreign aid could accomplish.’151
The final text of the TPP does contain language on trade and biodiversity in Article 20.13.152
Article 20.13.1 provides: ‘The Parties recognise the importance of conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity and their key role in achieving sustainable
development.’ 153 Article 20.13.2 states: ‘Accordingly, each Party shall promote and
encourage the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, in accordance with its
law or policy.’ 154 Article 20.13.3 provides: ‘The Parties recognise the importance of respecting, preserving and maintaining knowledge and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles that contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.’ 155 It is noticeable here that there is some small
reference to Indigenous rights in respect of access to genetic resources. Article 20.13.4 notes:
‘Parties recognise the importance of facilitating access to genetic resources within their
151 Ibid.
152 Article 20.13 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
153 Article 20.13.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
154 Article 20.13.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
155 Article 20.13.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
46
respective national jurisdictions, consistent with each Party’s international obligations.’ 156
Moreover, ‘The Parties further recognise that some Parties require, through national
measures, prior informed consent to access such genetic resources in accordance with
national measures and, where such access is granted, the establishment of mutually agreed
terms, including with respect to sharing of benefits from the use of such genetic resources,
between users and providers.’ 157 Article 20.13.5 provides: ‘The Parties also recognise the
importance of public participation and consultation, in accordance with their respective law
or policy, in the development and implementation of measures concerning the conservation
and sustainable use of biological diversity’. 158 Article 20.13.5 also stresses: ‘Each Party shall make publicly available information about its programmes and activities, including cooperative programmes, related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.’ 159 Article 20.13.6 observes that ‘the Parties shall cooperate to address matters of
mutual interest’ – including ‘(a) the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity;
(b) the protection and maintenance of ecosystems and ecosystem services; and (c) access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their utilization.’ 160
156 Article 20.13.4 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
157 Article 20.13.4 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
158 Article 20.13.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
159 Article 20.13.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
160 Article 20.13.6 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
47
There would appear to be significant regrets about the failure of the TPP to do much to
promote the conservation of biodiversity in the Pacific Rim.
4. Marine Capture Fisheries
White House TPP Social Media Campaign
In 2011, the United States Trade Representative emphasized that it would address fisheries in
the TPP.161 The Green Paper emphasized:
The United States and other TPP countries have proposed TPP disciplines on subsidies that contribute
to overcapacity and overfishing, potentially lighting the way for a WTO multilateral agreement on
fisheries subsidies. With respect to IUU fishing, the United States has proposed obligations to support
measures being developed or implemented through relevant regional fisheries management
organizations and other arrangements in the region, such as catch documentation schemes and port
161 United States Trade Representative, ‘Green Paper on Conservation and the Trans-Pacific Partnership’,
December 2011, http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/ustr-green-paper-conservation-and-
trans-pacific-partnership
48
State measures. Shark populations in the region are at particular risk, and the United States has
proposed specific obligations in this area, such as actions to deter “shark-finning” practices.162
There has been much debate about whether the TPP has realised such ambitions.
On the topic of marine protection, the United States Trade Representative, Michael Froman,
has maintained:
And when it comes to oceans, for decades the WTO has tried – unsuccessfully – to reach agreement to
constrain subsidies that encourage overfishing and ruin our marine life. TPP and TTIP are not-to-be-
missed opportunities for a breakthrough on fishing subsidies which would be important in its own right
and as a step toward breaking international deadlock on this issue.163
Froman has maintained: ‘The groundbreaking conservation and marine fisheries provisions
proposed by the United States in the TPP talks – fully explained in our December 2011
“Green Paper” online – go beyond the multilateral agreements on fisheries management to
which the United States and some of the other countries are already parties’.164 He insisted:
‘We are proposing that the TPP include, for the first time in any trade or environment
agreement, groundbreaking prohibitions on fish subsidies that set a new and higher baseline
for fisheries protections.’165
162 Ibid.
163 Michael Froman, ‘A Values-Driven Trade Policy: Remarks by Ambassador Froman at the Center for
American Progress’, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 18 February 2014,
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2014/February/A-Values-Driven-Trade-
Policy Remarks-by-USTR-Froman-at-Center-for-American-P
164 Ibid.
165 Ibid.
49
In 2012, members of the United States Congress - including Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR),
Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Kerry (D-MA) – emphasized the need to protect ocean resources:
Without adequate protection, the threats to the Pacific Rim’s natural resources are clear. The Food and
Agriculture Organization now estimates that more than 85 percent of the world’s commercial fish
populations are over- or fully-exploited. Government sponsored fishing subsidies are a primary
contributor to overfishing. These subsidies are driving the depletion of fish resources in the Pacific Rim
and they put the U.S. fish and seafood industries at an economic disadvantage, limiting their ability to
166 compete in domestic and foreign markets.
The protection of dolphins, sharks, and whales is a particularly significant issue in the TPP.
The Sierra Club, WWF, and NRDC are critical of the text in respect of Marine Capture
Fisheries revealed by the WikiLeaks publication:
Importantly, Article SS.16 on Marine Capture Fisheries recognizes the role of TPP countries as major
consumers, producers and traders of fisheries products and the global problem of overfishing arising
from inadequate fisheries management, fisheries subsidies and illegal, unreported and unregulated
(IUU) fishing. By including actions to address the problems of overfishing and the unsustainable use of
fisheries resources, it sets an important precedent for future agreements. However, the obligations in
166 Ron Wyden and others ‘A Letter to the Honourable Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative’, 17
October 2012 http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/downloads/Wyden-Snowe-TPP-Enviro-Lette-Oct%202012.pdf http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2012/10/senator-tpp-letter html
50
many cases are weak and the failure to subject any of the commitments to binding dispute settlement
167 severely undermines their credibility.
The environmental groups make a number of recommendations for revision and reform in
this particular area.
In her analysis, Coral Davenport highlighted the weak language in respect of shark-finning in
the TPP.168 She commented:
In addition, the draft does not contain clear requirements for a ban on shark finning, which is the
practice of capturing sharks and cutting off their fins — commonly used in shark-fin soup — and
throwing back the sharks to die. The dish is a delicacy in many of the Asian negotiating countries. At
this point the draft says that the countries “may include” bans “as appropriate” on such practices.169
A number of the negotiating parties in the TPP – Australia and Japan - have been involved in
a significant international dispute over whaling in the International Court of Justice.
Samantha Page reported that ‘Whaling - which is currently under dispute between Japan and
Australia - might not be dealt with in the environmental chapter of the TPP.’170 She noted
167 Sierra Club, WWF, and NRDC, ‘Analysis of Leaked Environment Chapter Consolidated Text’, 15
January 2014, http://action.sierraclub.org/site/DocServer/TPP Enviro Analysis.pdf?docID=14842
168 Coral Davenport, ‘Administration is Seen as Retreating on Environment in Talks on Pacific Trade’,
The New York Times, 15 January 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/politics/administration-is-seen-
as-retreating-on-environment-in-talks-on-pacific-trade html? r=1
169 Ibid.
170 Samantha Page, ‘What Does The New Environmental Chapter Mean For The TPP? Not Much,
Activists Say’, Think Progress, 31 July 2015, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/31/3686695/tpp-
environmental-chapter/
51 that ‘Japan has been pushing back against potential whale-hunting prohibitions.’171 There remains deep concern that Japan has shown little respect for environmental protection in respect of sharks, whales, dolphins.
Russell Simons, Simone Reyes, and a number of celebrities – including Sean Penn, Mia
Farrow, Cher, Moby, and Emily Deschanel – have called upon President Barack Obama and
Ambassador Caroline Kennedy to refuse to let Japan join the TPP until it abandons its practices of the slaughter of cetacean species.172 The letter noted: ‘Following the graphic news reports on January 17th that five pods of Bottlenose dolphins were driven into Taiji’s infamous killing cove, leaving 40 slaughtered and 51 captured, people watching from around the world were left heartbroken.’173 The group observed:
Corporations have spent the past two years marking-up the language of the TPP to serve their interests,
should human compassion not be afforded the same privilege as business interests? Although we
understand that the negotiations have been quite lengthy, at this point, we feel the only way to end
these heinous crimes against dolphins migrating through Japan’s waters is to inject our position into the
current conversation regarding the trade agreement.174
The signatories called upon White House to make the slaughter of dolphins and captive trade a key factor in the negotiations ahead in respect of the TPP.
171 Ibid.
172 Russell Simmons and Simone Reyes, ‘Celebrities Demand President Make Japan’s Dolphin Slaughter
“A Key Factor” in Next Round of TPP Negotiations’, The Sparrow Project, 6 February 2014, http://www.sparrowmedia net/2014/02/trans-pacific-partnership-taiji-dolphin-celebrities-tpp/
173 Ibid.
174 Ibid.
52
A number of environmental organisations have focused upon the issue of marine fisheries.
The Sea Shepherd has been particularly concerned about the impact of the agreement. Omar
Todd of the Sea Shepherd has argued:
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has since its inception been kept in the shadows, negotiated
without the public eye and out of sight from the general public. Sea Shepherd supports the importance
of biodiversity and open consultative dialogue for any trade agreements. The emphasis of these
agreements must balance both economic and environmental priorities. Humanity’s lust for
commercialisation and unbridled growth, at the expense of our life support system, may cause us to fall
off the precipice as a species.175
Accordingly, the Sea Shepherd has joined the coalition of civil society organisations, which
have opposed the fast-tracking of the TPP.
In a consideration of the issue for Shark Week, Ilana Solomon from the Sierra Club expressed
concerns about the text on Marine Capture Fisheries in the TPP.176 She commented:
‘Unfortunately, a massive trade agreement currently under negotiation between the United
States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries seems to leave shark fins on the chopping block.’177
Solomon worried:
175 Common Dreams, ‘New Campaign Launched: “10 Days to Stop Fast Track” Brings Together Diverse
Network of Labor, Internet, and Environmental Activists’, Common Dreams, 23 January 2014,
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2014/01/23/new-campaign-launched-10-days-stop-fast-track-brings-
together-diverse-network
176 Ilana Solomon, ‘Predators, Prey, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, The Huffington Post, 12 August
2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/predators-prey-and-the-tr b 5671765 html
177 Ibid.
53
In fact, many of the 12 Pacific Rim countries negotiating the secretive trade pact - Malaysia, Vietnam,
and Singapore, to name a few - have a long and bloody history in the shark fin trade. That's why it is
particularly worrying that a previously leaked chapter of the TPP includes only very vague references
to shark finning - not the full ban on shark finning and associated trade that we need. Other parts of the
TPP would allow corporations to sue governments over environmental safeguards--like protections for
sharks - that might decrease their profits. This could mean a huge step backward in the fight to protect
sharks.178
Solomon urged the community to tell ‘Members of Congress to oppose fast track in order to prevent a harmful TPP that threatens communities, our environment, and sharks.’ She observed: ‘So while you're watching prime time shark action this week, take action to tell your Member of Congress that the U.S. can't be a part of any trade deal that puts our sharks at risk.’179 Solomon concluded: ‘We know we need to protect our oceans' top predator. It's time the U.S. led the way.’180
The final text of the TPP does contain language on marine capture fisheries in Article
20.16.181 Article 20.16.1 emphasizes:
The Parties acknowledge their role as major consumers, producers and traders of fisheries products and
the importance of the marine fisheries sector to their development and to the livelihoods of their fishing
communities, including artisanal or small-scale fisheries. The Parties also acknowledge that the fate of
marine capture fisheries is an urgent resource problem facing the international community.
178 Ibid.
179 Ibid.
180 Ibid.
181 Article 20.16 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
54
Accordingly, the Parties recognise the importance of taking measures aimed at the conservation and the
182 sustainable management of fisheries.
Moreover, the agreement emphasizes: ‘Each Party shall promote the long-term conservation
of sharks, marine turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals, through the implementation and
effective enforcement of conservation and management measures’.183
Greenpeace USA researcher, Charlie Cray, commented: ‘The text includes toothless ocean
conservation provisions with slippery language that encourages but does not require bans on
trade in illegal timber, shark finning, commercial whaling and illegal, unreported and
unregulated (IUU) fishing.’184 Cray said ‘There are better ways to protect the world's oceans than what's in the TPP.’185
A Coalition of Green Groups made a number of recommendations in respect of fisheries,
oceans, and marine protection. 186 The alliance maintained that there should be ‘legally
182 Article 20.16.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
183 Article 20.16.4 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
184 Rodrigo Estrada Patino, ‘Greenpeace Response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Text’, Greenpeace
USA, 5 November 2015, http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/greenpeace-response-to-the-trans-pacific- partnership-text/
185 Ibid.
186 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice,
Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Sustain US, ‘Re:
Environmental Provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 29 October 2015,
https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/tpp%20letter%20final 0.pdf
55 binding commitments to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.’187
Moreover, there should be ‘legally binding rules to prohibit subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing’.188 Furthermore, the Green Groups pressed for ‘legally binding prohibitions on shark finning and associated trade and commercial whaling.’189 The coalition said: ‘With respect to whaling, it is critical that countries are required to adopt, maintain, and implement its obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation of
Whaling.’190 The Green Groups warned: ‘Language that recognizes the problems of shark finning and commercial whaling without specific and enforceable obligations to address these problems would put sharks and whale populations at increased risk by making potential markets for these illegal products larger.’191
187 Ibid.
188 Ibid.
189 Ibid.
190 Ibid.
191 Ibid.
56
5. Conservation
White House TPP Social Media Campaign
In 2011, the United States Trade Representative developed a Green Paper on trade,
conservation, and the environment in the context of the TPP.192 The Green Paper stressed:
‘The significance of existing problems with illegal wildlife and wild plant trade warrant bold
measures in the TPP.’193 The Green Paper promised: ‘Our proposal for a conservation
framework in the TPP environment chapter reflects our determination to negotiate a truly
21st-century result for trade and the environment.’194
192 United States Trade Representative, ‘Green Paper on Conservation and the Trans-Pacific Partnership’,
December 2011, http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/ustr-green-paper-conservation-and-
trans-pacific-partnership
193 Ibid.
194 Ibid.
57
Apparently, Australia has voiced reservations about the United States conservation proposal,
because of a belief that it is overly prescriptive and fails to take into account individual
variation in national laws. Australia is perhaps also concerned about preserving the
precautionary principle under the TPP.
Mike Baker, the chief executive of World Animal Protection was a supporter of the TPP.195
He argued that the ‘TPP can potentially enhance and embed international standards for
wildlife.’196 He contended that ‘the deal's environment chapter can potentially help curb one
of the severest transnational crimes: wildlife trafficking.’197 In his view, ‘With Asia-Pacific countries on both the supply and demand side of the trade, and the United States as the second largest market for illegal wildlife products, the TPP presents a unique opportunity to help combat this insidious trade.’198 He maintained: ‘The TPP's environment chapter can potentially enhance and embed standards for wildlife and marine animals’.199 Mike Baker
offered his endorsement of the agreement: ‘As an advocate for animals, when World Animal
Protection sees potential to help them, we are compelled to press for the best possible
outcome.’200 However, his endorsement does not address whether the provisions of wildlife
trafficking will be substantive, meaningful, or enforceable.
195 Mike Baker, ‘The TPP has potential to help protect the world's animals’, ABC Environment, 3 August
2015, http://www.abc net.au/environment/articles/2015/08/03/4284834 htm
196 Ibid.
197 Ibid.
198 Ibid.
199 Ibid.
200 Ibid.
58
In 2013, Carter Roberts, the President and CEO of WWF, pressed the United States
Government to take a strong line on conservation in the TPP talks. He observed that ‘there
remain unrealized opportunities to incorporate environmental provisions into the framework
of the TPP.’201 Roberts noted: ‘As part of the Executive Order on Wildlife Crime, the
President declared that “the United States shall seek to reduce the demand for illegally traded wildlife, both at home and abroad, while allowing legal and legitimate commerce involving
wildlife.”’202 He commented: ‘As implied in this statement, there is an important legal trade
in wildlife products – including commodity products such as timber and fish – and this legal
trade, which is of great economic value to many countries, including the US, is undermined
by illegality throughout the supply chain’.203
Carter Roberts argued that ‘it is critical that international trade agreements, such as the
emerging TPP, incorporate strong conservation provisions to ensure that natural resources are
legally harvested and traded and developed sustainably in source countries.’204 Carter Roberts
commented:
Renewable resources and wildlife are highly traded among the twelve TPP partner countries, which
represent major producers, exporters and importers of seafood, wood and other goods derived from
natural resources. The TPP countries represent eight of the world’s top 20 fishing nations, contributing
over 28% of the global marine catch, with almost 33% of global fish product imports and 24% of
201 Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF, ‘Rebalance to Asia III: Protecting the Environment and
Ensuring Food and Water Security in East Asia and the Pacific’, Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 24 July 2013,
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Roberts Testimony.pdf
202 Ibid.
203 Ibid.
204 Ibid.
59
exports. They account for 17% of global shark imports and 28% of global exports by value. They
account for 34% of global timber and pulp production and 24% of total trade value worldwide. They
also represent significant importing, exporting and transit countries for legal and illegal wildlife
products, and some countries, such as Vietnam, are the major global markets for CITES-listed species.
Where natural resources are poorly managed, the demand generated by TPP markets can drive illegal
activities and unsustainable practices.205
Carter Roberts submitted: ‘This is why the TPP presents the participating countries,
including the US, with a unique and important opportunity to promote economic growth in
the context of a far-reaching and ambitious 21st Century trade agreement, while also
recognizing the fundamental need to sustainably manage natural resources and protect
wildlife from illegal trade’. 206 He maintained: ‘If executed along these lines, it can also serve
as a strong model for future such agreements’.207
Conservation groups, though, were disappointed by the text of the TPP in respect of
conservation. Nav Dayanand has considered whether free trade agreements work for wildlife
conservation.208 Dayanand has noted the volatile nature of the discussions: ‘Certain key
tenets of the TPP chapter as released by USTR's earlier green paper leads observers following
the process to believe that the US is calling for core environment and conservation challenges
to be addressed through the same dispute settlement provisions as commercial chapters that
205 Ibid.
206 Ibid.
207 Ibid.
208 Nav Dayanand, ‘Can Free Trade Agreements work for Wildlife Conservation?’. (2014) 8 (2) BioRes 6-
8 http://www.ictsd.org/downloads/bioresreview/biores8-2.pdf
60
are binding on all parties, which would also follow instructions in the 2007 bipartisan
agreement.’209 Dayanand observed:
But Japan's joining of the TPP talks in July 2013, following its opposition a few months prior at the
CITES COP16 to the listing of the oceanic whitetip shark under CITES Appendix II - which prompts
permits to ensure exports are sustainable and legal - drew concern among some in the conservation
community about the reduced potential for the trade agreement to help regulate shark fisheries. And
when in the new year anti-government secrecy organisation WikiLeaks revealed a November 2013
draft of the TPP environment text, many international conservation organisations in the US suggested it
offered sobering news in relation to all 11 of the US negotiating partners' positions with regards to a
strong, enforceable environment chapter.210
Dayand was circumspect as to whether the TPP would promote conservation: ‘While
negotiations continue, the reality appears to be that the US faces an uphill battle in pushing
for a binding environment chapter with wildlife safeguards subject to dispute resolution
similar to other business chapters of the agreement’.211 Dayand observed: ‘Besides underlining international MEAs, which among other topics include mechanisms for prohibiting the trade in endangered fauna and flora, FTA environment chapters - if negotiated properly - can also offer specific protections for trafficked or threatened wildlife, such as unlawfully taken flora or vulnerable fisheries’.212 Dayand concluded: ‘But like all battles,
achieving the desired outcome will require a hawkish eye for detail and persistence.’213
209 Ibid.
210 Ibid.
211 Ibid.
212 Ibid.
213 Ibid.
61
As it stands, the TPP will endanger the protection of the environment, the rich biodiversity of
the Pacific Rim, and the climate. Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club,
worried: ‘If the environment chapter is finalized as written in this leaked document, President
Obama’s environmental trade record would be worse than George W. Bush’s.’214 He
lamented: ‘This draft chapter falls flat on every single one of our issues - oceans, fish,
wildlife, and forest protections - and in fact, rolls back on the progress made in past free trade
pacts.’215
Ben Beachy from the Sierra Club noted: ‘One of the latest TPP sales pitches from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and other TPP proponents is that the deal would help protect endangered wildlife like rhinos and elephants.’216 He made several criticisms of
such promises. First, he noted that ‘TPP-like deals have repeatedly failed to live up to
promises of environmental protection’.217 Second, he said that the environmental terms were
weaker than the unenforced provisions of the Peru trade deal. Third, Beachy warned: ‘The
TPP could exacerbate threats to endangered species by incentivizing wider destruction of
their habitats.’218 Finally, he noted that other more effective tools exist to reduce illegal
214 Sierra Club, NRDC, and WWF, ‘Green Groups: Leaked Trans-Pacific Partnership Environment
Chapter Unacceptable’, 15 January 2014, http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2014/01/green-groups-
leaked-trans-pacific-partnership-environment-chapter
215 Ibid.
216 Ben Beachy, ‘Four Reasons Not To Trust the TPP to Save Endangered Animals’, The Huffington Post,
24 September 2015, http://www huffingtonpost.com/ben-beachy/four-reasons-not-to-
trust b 8185594 html?ir=Australia
217 Ibid.
218 Ibid.
62 illegal wildlife trade. Beachy recommended that other policy tools can and should be used immediately to help save endangered species from extinction.
With the agreement on the TPP in October 2015, the White House sought to promote the trade agreement as being good for the environment. The White House used an array of social media advertisements on the TPP, featuring endangered animals, such as tigers, rhinoceros, and elephants. Following the White House’s talking points, The New York Times published a story entitled, ‘Environmentalists Praise Wildlife Measures in Trans-Pacific Trade Pact.’219
The story provided this gloss on the text:
The [TPP]… places new limits on wildlife trafficking and subsidies for illegal fishing. The United
States and several of the Asian countries participating in the trade deal are sources of and crucial
markets for illegal animal parts like African rhinoceros horns, ivory and tiger bones. In Asia, some
exotic animal parts end up as meals or in medicine shops, where they are sold as cures for various
ailments including impotence. In Western countries, some smuggled items, like lion heads, end up in
living rooms as trophies. Worldwide, the illegal trade is estimated at about $20 billion a year by
Interpol, the international police agency. The agreement complements the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as Cites. The Cites agreement
provides a list of animals and plants for which international trade is banned or restricted, and it is the
world’s primary treaty to protect wildlife, with roughly 175 member countries. Under provisions in the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, countries would be required to enforce laws and regulations to protect
wildlife covered under the Cites agreement from illegal smuggling, or risk economic sanctions. The
agreement goes further by requiring countries to take action to protect any wildlife, even if it is not
covered under Cites, if the wildlife has been illegally taken from any country.220
219 Rob Nixon and Coral Davenport, ‘Environmentalists Praise Wildlife Measures in Trans-Pacific Trade
Pact’, The New York Times, 5 October 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/business/environmentalists- praise-wildlife-measures-in-trans-pacific-trade-pact html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
220 Ibid.
63
The piece quoted David McCauley from the World Wildlife Fund as saying ‘The provisions
in the Trans-Pacific Partnership go beyond what we have seen in other trade agreements.’ 221
There was heavy criticism of the article for creating the misleading impression that the
majority of environmental groups were supportive of the TPP.222
However, many environmental groups repudiated the claims of the White House, saying that
they did not support this trade pact.223 Erich Pica, President of Friends of the Earth, was
scathing about the final version of the TPP:
Ambassador Froman struck an ugly deal in Atlanta and is going to have a hard time selling this to
Congress and the American people. The compromises that struck will further enrage environmentalists
and other progressive opposition, and threatens to undermine the razor thin majority that gave President
Obama Fast Track trade authority. Friends of the Earth urges our members and members of Congress to
oppose this bad deal.224
221 Ibid.
222 Letters, ‘Evaluating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Pact’. The New York Times, 8 October 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/08/opinion/evaluating-the-trans-pacific-partnership-pact html? r=0
223 Zach Carter, ‘White House says Enviros Love This Trade Pact, But Enviros Say Otherwise’, The
Huffington Post, 4 April 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2015/04/03/environmentalists-tpp-trade-
pact n 7001184 html?ir=Australia
224 Friends of the Earth, ‘The U.S. Cuts an Ugly Deal on Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement’, Press Release, 5
October 2015, http://www.foe.org/news/news-releases/2015-10-the-us-cuts-an-ugly-deal-on-trans-pacific-trade-
agreement#sthash.eWLueGX2.iNSdgBGg.dpuf
64
Ilana Solomon of the Sierra Club documented the criticism of the Environment Chapter of the
TPP from over a dozen environmental and climate organisations.225 She commented that
‘there is no evidence to support claims that the pact will help save endangered species like the elephant or rhino.’226
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program Director Janet Redman, commented:
‘Stopping the trade of illegally taken plants and wildlife is a noble cause, but in the case of the TPP, it's a dangerous distraction.’ 227 She warned: ‘The trade pact strengthens the ability
of corporations to sue countries when they pass rules to protect rapidly disappearing wildlife
and the places they live.’228
Green groups demanded a ‘legally enforceable prohibition on trade in illegally sourced
timber, wildlife, and marine resources.’229 The organisations warned: ‘Language that requires
countries to “combat” “deter,” or otherwise address illegal trade in flora and fauna without
225 Ilana Solomon, ‘More than a Dozen Environmental Organizations Warn of Trans-Pacific Partnership
Risks’, The Huffington Post, 7 October 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/more-than-a-
dozen-environ b 8253990 html?ir=Australia
226 Ibid.
227 Ibid.
228 Ibid.
229 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice,
Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Sustain US, ‘Re:
Environmental Provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 29 October 2015,
https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/tpp%20letter%20final 0.pdf
65
an obligation to establish and implement a clear prohibition will be insufficient to address
the problems of illegal timber and wildlife trade.’230
Article 20.17 of the final text of the TPP addresses the topic of ‘Conservation and Trade’.231
Article 20.17.1 has a simple recognition: ‘The Parties affirm the importance of combating the
illegal take of, and illegal trade in, wild fauna and flora, and acknowledge that this trade
undermines efforts to conserve and sustainably manage those natural resources, has social
consequences, distorts legal trade in wild fauna and flora, and reduces the economic and
environmental value of these natural resources.232 Article 20.17.2 acknowledges that ‘each
Party shall adopt, maintain and implement laws, regulations and any other measures to fulfill its obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES).’233 Article 20.17.3 observes: ‘The Parties commit to promote
conservation and to combat the illegal take of, and illegal trade in, wild fauna and flora’.234
There is a discussion of exchange of information, joint activities, and best endeavours to
implement CITES resolutions. Article 20.17.4 loosely talks about taking appropriate
measures to protect and conserve wild fauna and flora, as well as capacity-building and co-
230 Ibid.
231 Article 20.17 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
232 Article 20.17.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
233 Article 20.17.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
234 Article 20.17.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
66
operation.235 Article 20.17.5 discusses deterrence of the illegal trade of wild fauna and
flora.236 Article 20.17.6 highlights the discretion of individual parties.237 Article 20.17.7
discusses law enforcement co-operation and sharing.238
The Defenders of Wildlife were disappointed by the final text of the TPP.239 Jamie Rappaport
Clark, President and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, said: ‘Now that the text of the Trans-
Pacific-Partnership is available to the public, it is disappointingly clear that this is not the
tougher language we had hoped for’.240 The President observed: ‘The environment chapter is
weak and fails to provide the necessary requirements and stronger penalties desperately
needed to better fight poaching, protect wildlife habitat and shut down the illegal wildlife
trade.’241 Clark said: ‘Although presented as a ground-breaking trade agreement in regards to
wildlife, the Trans-Pacific Partnership includes no commitments not already present in
existing international and regional agreements for regulating wildlife trade or preventing
wildlife trafficking.’242 The President of Defenders of Wildlife commented: ‘We urge
235 Article 20.17.4 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
236 Article 20.17.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
237 Article 20.17.6 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
238 Article 20.17.7 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
239 Defenders of Wildlife, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership falls short for Wildlife’, Press Release, 5 November
2015, http://www.defenders.org/press-release/trans-pacific-partnership-falls-short-wildlife
240 Ibid.
241 Ibid.
242 Ibid.
67
Congress to reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership and call for a plan that would actually make
a difference for wildlife and our natural heritage.’243
6. Trade in Environmental Services and Goods
There has been much discussion as to whether the TPP will promote trade in environmental
services and goods.
In September 2012, there was agreement at APEC to reduce tariffs upon environmental
goods.244 Australian Trade Minister at the time Craig Emerson commented: ‘Australia
exports $1.2 billion worth of these environmental goods in the region and $430 billion worth
of trade is done in these environmental goods.’245
The United States Trade Representative, Michael Froman, has argued: ‘We are working to
reduce barriers on the trade of green goods and services which will create jobs here at home
while expanding the availability of new, clean technologies that will help make progress on
climate change’. 246
243 Ibid.
244 APEC Declaration 2012, http://www.apec.org/Press/News-Releases/2012/0909 declaration.aspx and
Annex on Tariffs and Environmental Goods: http://www.apec.org/Press/News-
Releases/2012/~/link.aspx? id=357A0FFAFA184C278FC840F9F6E9DF36& z=z
245 ABC/ AFP, ‘APEC Cuts Tariffs on Green Products’, ABC News, 10 September 2012,
http://www.abc net.au/news/2012-09-09/apec-cuts-tariffs-on-green-products/4251602
246 Michael Froman, ‘A Values-Driven Trade Policy: Remarks by Ambassador Froman at the Center for
American Progress’, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 18 February 2014,
68
The leaked draft text provided an indication of the content in this area. Article SS.18
considers ‘environmental goods and services’.247 Article SS. 18 (1) provides that ‘the Parties
recognize the importance of trade and investment in environmental goods and services as a
means of improving environmental and economic performance and addressing global
environmental challenges.’248 Article SS. 18 (2) observes: ‘Accordingly, each Party has, consistent with its national circumstances, eliminated all customs duties upon entry into force of this Agreement on a wide range of environmental goods and as soon as possible on all other environmental goods.’249 Article SS. 18 (3) comments: ‘Furthermore, in recognition of
the importance of environmental services in supporting environmental goods trade and
delivering benefits in their own right, each Party has, consistent with national circumstances,
limited its restrictions on trade in environmental services, including environmental service
suppliers.’250 Article SS.18 (4) observes: ‘The Committee shall consider issues identified by
Parties related to the trade in environmental goods and services, including issues identified as
potential non-tariff barriers to such trade’.251 The provision also emphasizes that: ‘The Parties
shall endeavor to address any potential barriers to trade that may be identified by a Party,
including by working through the Committee and in conjunction with other relevant TPP
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2014/February/A-Values-Driven-Trade-
Policy Remarks-by-USTR-Froman-at-Center-for-American-P
247 WikiLeaks, ‘WikiLeaks Release of Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment Chapter
Consolidated Text’, 24 November 2013, https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/
248 Ibid.
249 Ibid.
250 Ibid.
251 Ibid.
69
Committees, as appropriate.’252 Article SS. 18 (5) stressed: ‘The Parties may develop
bilateral and plurilateral cooperative projects on environmental goods and services to address
current and future global trade-related environmental challenges.’253
The final text of the TPP provides a brief, abridged discussion of ‘environmental goods and
services.’254 Article 20.18.1 provides: ‘The Parties recognise the importance of trade and
investment in environmental goods and services as a means of improving environmental and
economic performance and addressing global environmental challenges.’ 255 Article 20.18.2 notes: ‘The Parties further recognise the importance of this Agreement to promoting trade and investment in environmental goods and services in the free trade area.’256 Article 20.18.3
emphasizes: ‘Accordingly, the Committee shall consider issues identified by a Party or
Parties related to trade in environmental goods and services, including issues identified as
potential non-tariff barriers to that trade’. 257 Moreover, ‘The Parties shall endeavour to
address any potential barriers to trade in environmental goods and services that may be
identified by a Party, including by working through the Committee and in conjunction with
252 Ibid.
253 Ibid.
254 Article 20.18 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
255 Article 20.18.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
256 Article 20.18.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
257 Article 20.18.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
70
other relevant committees established under this Agreement, as appropriate’. 258 Article
20.18.4 provides: ‘The Parties may develop bilateral and plurilateral cooperative projects on environmental goods and services to address current and future global trade-related environmental challenges.’ 259 Overall, this TPP text on the environment is rather hollow and
empty, and does little to promote trade in environmental goods and services.
Joshua Meltzer has argued that the TPP can help achieve a range of environmental goals:
‘Similar to the way the TPP can help countries improve a broad range of environmental
challenges by shifting their economies into cleaner, less polluting industries, the TPP can
assist countries’ transition on to low-carbon pathways by providing access to pertinent goods,
services and investment.’260 He contended that ‘reduced tariffs on environmental goods can
support domestic efforts towards environmental conservation and reducing GHG
emissions.’261
David Levine, the president and CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council, based
in Washington, D.C, and opponent of fast-track, has argued that there is a need to develop a
258 Article 20.18.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
259 Article 20.18.4 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
260 Joshua Meltzer, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Environment and Climate Change’, in
Tania Voon (ed.), Trade Liberalisation and International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 2013, 207-230 at 220.
261 Ibid., 220.
71
better model of trade, which supports a green economy.262 He maintained ‘that trade deals
should boost worker and environmental standards, not lower them’.263 Levine insisted: ‘We
should preserve the right and ability of our federal, state and local governments to set
standards and guidelines’.264 He commented: ‘We should seek the highest common ground,
not the lowest.’265 Levine stressed: ‘We no longer need to choose between advancing our businesses and promoting sustainability in the workplace and in the environment.’ He
contended: ‘We can do all three.’266 Levine maintained: ‘By protecting the environment and
public health, and instituting better working conditions for employees, we will ensure our
economy is stronger for the long-term.’267 He observed: ‘The best trade deal will ensure that
countries build their standards even further, speeding us to a global economy built on high-
road and sustainability standards.’268
Rose Marcario of Patagonia said that her firm would oppose the TPP.269 She noted: ‘Because
beyond being in business to make money, we’re a mission-driven company working to use
business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis’.270 Rose Marcario
262 David Levine, ‘Trading up for a Better Deal than Trans-Pacific Trade Pact’, LC Sun, 23 August 2015, http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci 28686017
263 Ibid.
264 Ibid.
265 Ibid.
266 Ibid.
267 Ibid.
268 Ibid.
269 Rose Marcario, ‘TPP: We Must Ask Who Benefits?’, Patagonia, 13 November 2015,
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tpp-we-must-ask-who-benefits-rose-
marcario?trk=hb ntf MEGAPHONE ARTICLE POST&sf15272251=1
270 Ibid.
72
stressed that the TPP did not uphold the company’s environmental values: ‘We also seek to
promote better, safer and healthier living and working conditions for the people who make
our clothing and gear.’271 She commented: ‘We oppose TPP because the costs for the
environment, workers, consumers, communities and small businesses would outweigh any
potential gains.’272
Taking a stronger stand, Ilana Solomon of the Sierra Club has provided a critical analysis of
developments in respect of the ‘trade in environmental goods.’273 She worries about the trade
discourse in this area.274 Solomon agreed that ‘as we transition to a clean energy economy, we
should increase the use of and trade in environmentally friendly technologies.’275 She insisted, however: ‘But unlocking the clean energy revolution should not be under the thumb of the WTO or through a purely "free-market approach."’276 Solomon maintained: ‘Instead,
key to unlocking clean energy is developing home-grown approaches to renewable energy
production and manufacturing that lift up and protect workers within and outside of the
U.S.’277 Ilana Solomon maintains that there is a need to promote technology transfer: ‘If
we're going to face this climate crisis together, developed nations - those historically
responsible for producing the greatest amount of climate-disrupting pollution - must also
271 Ibid.
272 Ibid.
273 Ilana Solomon, ‘Trade in Environmental Goods May Not Actually Be So Good’. The Huffington Post,
27 January 2014, http://www huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/trade-in-environmental-goods b 4666328.html
274 Ibid.
275 Ibid.
276 Ibid.
277 Ibid.
73 provide finance and clean technology to developing countries’.278 She observed that
‘Developed countries like the U.S. must step up and share resources that actually help the environment and communities’. 279
278 Ibid.
279 Ibid.
74
7. Trade and Climate Change
White House #ActonClimate Social Media
There have been tensions between Barack Obama’s promises for action on climate change,
and his trade agenda. Ilana Solomon of the Sierra Club has warned: ‘Our current model of
free trade is once again interfering with sound climate policy.’280 There has been outrage amongst environmental and climate activists that the United States Trade Representative been conflicted on climate action during the course of his Presidential career.
280 Ilana Solomon, ‘Why the Climate Movement Cannot Ignore Trade’, The Huffington Post, 25
September 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/why-the-climate-
movement b 5876964.html?ir=Australia
75
There has been much debate as to whether the TPP will facilitate action on climate change.
Some commentators like Joshua Meltzer were confident that the trade agreement could play a
useful role in addressing climate change.281 He commented: ‘As new challenges have arisen,
particularly climate change, new bargains need to be struck about how trade rules should be
used to support efforts to address this challenge.’282 Meltzer maintained:
As a 21st century trade agreement, the TPP is currently the best opportunity to address current
environmental challenges. The TPP is also the first major plurilateral trade negotiation post the WTO
Doha Round where both the impacts of climate change and the inability to make significant progress in
the United Nations climate change negotiations are clear.
This highlights the importance of using the TPP to develop new international trade rules that
can enable countries to develop their economies in an environmentally sustainable manner…. Should
the TPP become a free trade agreement of the Asia-Pacific region, it will… be a strong basis for
building a global consensus on these trade and environmental issues.283
However, it is not clear that the TPP negotiations will be a useful forum to address climate
change. Indeed, the trade deal may merely mirror the deadlocks and the stalemates which
281 Joshua Meltzer, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Environment and Climate Change’, in
Tania Voon (ed.), Trade Liberalisation and International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 2013, 207-230 at
282 Ibid., 230.
283 Joshua Meltzer, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Environment and Climate Change’, in
Tania Voon (ed.), Trade Liberalisation and International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 2013, 207-230 at 230.
76
have existed in respect of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
1992.
In his book, Oil and Honey, Bill McKibben highlights the contradictions of the President
Barack Obama on the issue of climate change.284 The United States President has waxed and
waned on the question of climate change. He has also supported the use of fracking, and
approved of drilling in the Arctic. The climate activist Bill McKibben has organised and led a
high-profile campaign, encouraging President Barack Obama to block the Keystone XL
Pipeline. After much deliberation, the President agreed to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline. At
the same time, the United States President has promised action on climate change, urging his
supporters to "Invest, Divest!" In his term, Obama has promised effective national and
international climate action. President Barack Obama secured the Paris Agreement 2015 in
December 2015.285 There has been divided opinion as to the merits of the international
climate agreement.
In her book This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein writes about ‘Hot Money: How Free
Market Fundamentalism Helped Overheat the Planet’.286 Klein recounts: ‘Throughout this period of rapid change [in the 1990s], the climate and trade negotiations closely paralleled one another, each winning landmark agreements within a couple of years of each other.’287
284 Bill McKibben, Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist, Melbourne: Black Inc. Books,
2013.
285 Paris Agreement 2015 FCCC/CP/2015/L.9/Rev.1 12 December 2015 https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf
286 Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, New York: Simon & Schuster,
2014.
287 Ibid, 64-95.
77
She counterpoints the development of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change1992288 and the Kyoto Protocol 1997,289 with the establishment of the
WTO,290 and the North American Free Trade Agreement 1994.291 Klein observes: ‘What is
most remarkable about these parallel processes — trade on the one hand, climate on the other — is the extent to which they functioned as two solitudes.’292 She stresses: ‘Indeed,
each seemed to actively pretend that the other did not exist, ignoring the most glaring
questions about how one would impact the other.’293 Klein is concerned that international
trade laws and globalization have been undermining climate action: ‘To allow arcane trade
law, which has been negotiated with scant public scrutiny, to have this kind of power over
an issue so critical to humanity’s future is a special kind of madness’.294 She has been disturbed that ‘green energy programs - the strong ones that are needed to lower global emissions fast - were increasingly being challenged under international trade agreements, particularly the [WTO]’s rules.’295
Naomi Klein was alarmed by the proposals in respect of the TPP:
288 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992, Opened for signature 9 May 1992,
1771 UNTS 107 (entered into force 21 March 1994).
289 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1997, Opened for signature 16 March 1998, 2303 UNTS 148 (entered into force 16 February 2005) (‘Kyoto Protocol’).
290 Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, opened for signature 15 April 1994,
1867 UNTS 3 (entered into force 1 January 1995).
291 North American Free Trade Agreement 1994.
292 Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, New York: Simon & Schuster,
2014.
293 Ibid., 76.
294 Ibid., 72.
295 Ibid., 64.
78
The habit of willfully erasing the climate crisis from trade agreements continues to this day: for
instance, in early 2014, several negotiating commitments for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, a
controversial new NAFTA-style trade deal spanning twelve countries were released to the public via
WikiLeaks… A draft of the environment chapter had contained language stating that countries
‘acknowledge climate change as a global concern that requires collective action and recognize the
importance of implementation of their respective commitments under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).’ The language was vague and nonbinding but at least it
was a tool that governments could use to defend themselves should their climate policies be challenged
in a trade tribunal, as Ontario’s plan was. But a later document showed that U.S. negotiators had
proposed an edit: take out all the stuff about climate change and UNFCCC commitments. In other
words, while trade has repeatedly been allowed to trump trade, under no circumstances would climate
be permitted to trump trade.296
Naomi Klein remains concerned that TransCanada could deploy investor clauses under
the North American Free Trade Agreement 1994 or the Trans-Pacific Partnership if the
Keystone XL pipeline to Canada’s tar sands is blocked or delayed. Such fears were realised.
In 2016, TransCanada has announced an investor action against the United States
Government’s decision to block the Keystone XL Pipeline under the North American Free
Trade Agreement 1994.297 Environmental groups have argued that the TransCanada investor
action highlights similar dangers with the TPP.298
296 Ibid., 88.
297 TransCanada, ‘TransCanada Commences Legal Actions Following Keystone XL Denial’, Press
Release, 6 January 2016 http://www.transcanada.com/announcements-article html?id=2014960
298 350.org and others, ‘Re: Following Announcement of TransCanada’s Investor-State Case Against the
United States, Environmental Organizations Urge Opposition to Trans-Pacific Partnership’, Letter to the United
States Congress, 9 March 2016, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-
wysiwig/transcanada-trade-letter.pdf; and Samantha Page, ‘Environmental Advocates Tell Congress: Reject the
79
A. The Draft Text on Climate Change
In January 2014, WikiLeaks revealed the draft text on climate change in the TPP.299
The TPP features weak, aspirational language on trade and climate change. Article SS.15
observes: ‘The Parties acknowledge climate change as a global concern that requires
collective action and recognize the importance of implementation of their respective commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) and its related legal instruments.’ 300
The TPP also emphasizes that trade and climate change action should be mutually
reinforcing: ‘The Parties recognize the desirability that trade and climate change policies be
mutually supportive, and that policies and measures to deal with climate change should be
cost effective.’301 Moreover, ‘The Parties further recognize the role that market and non-
market approaches can play in achieving climate change objectives.’302 The TPP text
observed:
TPP’, Climate Progress, 9 March 2016, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/03/09/3757348/tpp-opposition-
letter-to-congress/
299 WikiLeaks, ‘WikiLeaks Release of Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment Chapter
Consolidated Text’, 24 November 2013, https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/
300 Ibid.
301 Ibid.
302 Ibid.
80
The Parties agree that migration and adaptation actions should reflect domestic circumstances and
capabilities, and note efforts underway in a range of international fora to: increase energy
efficiency; develop low-carbon technologies and alternative and renewable energy sources; promote
sustainable transport and sustainable urban infrastructure development; address deforestation and
forest degradation; reduce emissions in international maritime shipping and air transport; improve
monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions; and develop adaptation actions
for climate change.303
The text also emphasized: ‘The Parties agree to encourage and facilitate cooperation on the complementary, trade-related, aspects of these efforts in areas of mutual interest.’304
The text stressed: ‘The Parties recognize that there are a suite of economic and environmental policy instruments that can play a role in achieving domestic climate change objectives and in helping achieve their international climate change commitments.’305 There was also language about information sharing about climate change action:
The Parties acknowledge the value of sharing information and experiences in developing and
implementing such instruments. Accordingly, where relevant and appropriate, the Parties agree to
discuss matters such as: best practices and lessons learned in designing, implementing, and operating
mechanisms to reduce carbon emissions, including market and non-market measures; best practices in
the design, implementation and enforcement of regulatory instruments; and best practices and lessons
learned to enhance the transparency and accuracy of such instruments. Activities pursuant to
paragraphs 3 and 4 may, at the discretion of the participating Parties and as appropriate, involve other
303 Ibid.
304 Ibid.
305 Ibid.
81
governments in the Asia-Pacific region with an interest in such mechanisms, as well as the private
sector and non-governmental organizations.306
The text also stressed: ‘The Parties recognize their respective commitments in APEC to rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while recognizing the importance of providing those in need with essential energy services.’307 Moreover, the TPP noted: ‘Accordingly, the Parties agree to undertake, as appropriate, cooperative and capacity building activities designed to facilitate effective implementation of these commitments, including in applying the APEC
Voluntary Reporting Mechanism.’308
B. The Geopolitics of Climate Change
During the negotiations, New Zealand tabled a proposal on climate change in the TPP.309 A
New Zealand Trade Official observed: ‘Climate change is one of the preeminent
environmental challenges of the 21st century and, as a 21st century agreement, the TPP is
well placed to be able to bring economic and environmental issues together in a way that
seeks to make trade policy and environmental policy mutually supportive’. The proposal
reportedly has two elements. First, New Zealand wants to include language stating that
countries should try to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels. Second, the country has supported
a non-binding affirmation of the benefit of pricing carbon in the text of the agreement. New
306 Ibid.
307 Ibid.
308 Ibid.
309 ‘Action Bulletin #14’, Trans-Pacific Partnership Watch, 29 July 2012, http://tppwatch.org/2012/07/29/tppwatch-action-bulletin-14-29-july-2012/
82
Zealand hopes that such text would be an important step towards the establishment of a regional carbon emissions trading system.
The New Zealand proposal has not necessarily found favour with environmental groups.
There has been criticism that the text is a ‘shadow solution’ – to the use the language of
Stephen Gardiner – because it only addresses the problem of climate change in a limited way.310 There has been concern that text on climate change in the Trans-Pacific Partnership may undermine or erode the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
1992, the Kyoto Protocol 1997, and ongoing multilateral negotiations over climate change.
Peru has also proposed text on climate change in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, reflecting its policy to reduce carbon emissions.
However, the United States and Australia have opposed the inclusion of the drafted text on climate change. President Barack Obama is a paradox. While he supports domestic action on climate change, Obama has shown a great unwillingness to push for substantive obligations on climate change at an international level in the TPP.
Australia’s position against text on climate change will no doubt harden. It is not clear where
Australia stands in the debate over the TPP and climate change – especially in light of its
310 Stephen M. Gardiner, A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2011), 76. http://books.google.com.au/books/about/A Perfect Moral Storm The Ethical Traged.html?id=A6yPX2y1Ru
AC&redir esc=y
83
package of reforms designed to promote a Clean Energy Future.311
As Prime Minister, Coalition leader Tony Abbott repealed carbon pricing laws, and sought to
dismantle the clean energy future reforms passed previously by the Australian Labor Party
and the Australian Greens. The new Coalition leader and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
has yet to declare his position in respect of climate change.
Under Stephen Harper, the Conservative Government in Canada was supportive of fossil
fuels – particularly the exploitation of tar-sands in Alberta. The Conservative Government
was hostile to environmental regulation and climate action.312 Stephen Harper was willing to
support the TPP, even though his government in a caretaker election mode. The NDP’s
Thomas Mulcair insisted that he would not be bound by Harper’s secret deal.313 Canadian
Greens MP Elizabeth May was highly critical of the environmental impact of the TPP.314
Naomi Klein and Maude Barlow warned: ‘At international climate negotiations, our
government’s defiant commitment to carbon pollution will continue to be a barrier to
progress, giving other governments an excuse to lower their ambitions and waste what is left
311 Clean Energy Future, http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/clean-energy-future/our-plan/clean-energy-
australia/
312 See David Boyd, The Optimistic Environmentalist: Progressing Towards a Greener Future, Toronto:
ECW Press, 2015; and David Boyd, Cleaner, Greener, Healthier: A Prescription for Stronger Canadian
Environmental Laws and Policies, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2015.
313 CBC News, ‘NDP Won’t Be “Bound” by Trans-Pacific Trade Deal, Tom Mulcair Says’, CBC News, 2
October 2015, http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-tpp-trade-ndp-1.3255051
314 Elizabeth May MP, ‘Submission: Environmental Assessment of Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade
Agreement Negotiations’, 29 January 2013, http://elizabethmaymp.ca/submission-environmental-assessment-
tpp
84
of this critical decade.’315 Stephen Harper went to the Canadian election, promising to pass
the TPP, before Canadian voters had an opportunity to see the texts of the agreement. Justin
Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada soundly won the election in 2015 – and vowed that
there would be an open discussion of the TPP.316 This new government promises to show a greater respect for environmental regulation and climate action. Trudeau has remained uncommitted on the question of implementing the TPP.
Moreover, Vietnam, Peru, and Malaysia did not want a reference to fossil fuel subsidies in an
Article in the Environment Chapter of the TPP. The nations opposed this text: ‘The Parties recognize their respective commitments in APEC to rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while recognizing the importance of providing those in need with essential energy services.’317
Heather Smith observed that, in the new Pacific trade talks leak, ‘climate’ became an
unmentioned topic.318 She commented that the United States was not playing a constructive role in the debate over climate change:
315 Naomi Klein and Maude Barlow, ‘Stephen Harper’s Politics Put Canada to Shame: Don’t Be
Distracted by Them’, The Guardian, 17 October 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/16/stephen-harper-canada-carbon-climate-change
316 Justin Trudeau, ‘Statement by Liberal Party of Canada Leader on the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 5
October 2015, https://www.liberal.ca/statement-by-liberal-party-of-canada-leader-justin-trudeau-on-the-trans-
pacific-partnership/
317 WikiLeaks, ‘WikiLeaks Release of Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership: Environment Chapter
Consolidated Text’, 24 November 2013, https://wikileaks.org/tpp-enviro/
318 Heather Smith, ‘In New Pacific Trade Talks Leak, “Climate” Becomes the Unmentionable’, Grist, 21
February 2014, http://grist.org/politics/in-new-pacific-trade-talks-leak-climate-becomes-the-
unmentionable/#.Uwq0VwAcQis.twitter
85
The previous draft had a vague agreement to “acknowledge climate change as a global concern that
requires collective action, and recognize the importance of implementation of their respective
commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).” Under
the proposed U.S. revision, the parties instead “affirm the importance of moving towards low-
emissions economies.” That’s it. No mention of what a low-emissions economy might be. No mention
of the UNFCC, whose agreements are non-binding and largely ineffectual but still represent the closest
thing the world has to a global climate change policy. The U.S.’s proposed revisions scrub the words
“climate change” from the text of the chapter.319
Heather Smith suggested that the leak revealed the priorities of U.S. trade representatives: ‘In
a world where most international bodies have figured out that it’s OK to pay the climate issue
lip service as long as you don’t do anything concrete about it, the American trade delegation
is reverting to old-school denial — as if, as long as we don’t mention it, maybe the problem
will just go away.’320
C. Fast-Track Debate 2015 and Presidential Debates 2016
In 2015, Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi was highly critical of President Barack Obama’s
demands for a fast track authority.321 She maintained: ‘In order to succeed in the global economy, it is necessary to move beyond stale arguments of protectionism vs. free trade.’322
Pelosi argued that trade deals must have strong and effective protection for the environment:
‘To do so, we must recognize that workers' rights, consumer and intellectual protections, and
319 Ibid.
320 Ibid.
321 Nancy Pelosi, ‘Trade Promotion Authority on its Last Legs’, USA Today, 15 June 2015, http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/06/15/congress-trade-fast-track-tpa-pelosi-column/71270294/
322 Ibid.
86 environmental safeguards must be just as enforceable as the protection of the economic interests of investors.’323 She observed that ‘we must prepare our people, our economies and our environment for the future.’324 Pelosi was particularly animated about the relationship between trade and climate change:
The climate crisis presents a challenge to the survival of our planet, but it also presents an opportunity
to create a clean energy economy. Investing in a green economy will result in clean energy jobs for the
many workers who have been left behind by globalization. Recognizing this trend, the Democratic
Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007. It created an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program to prepare a
quality workforce for clean energy jobs. It was a solution as local as neighborhoods from rural areas to
inner cities, and as global as the planet. Our pre-eminence in clean energy is essential to maintaining
America as No. 1 in the global economy, and we must protect the intellectual property rights of
entrepreneurs.325
In her view, ‘We must ensure that trading partners play by the rules and uphold their responsibility to their international obligations.’326
President Barack Obama was able to obtain support for a fast-track authority from the United
States Congress, with the help of Republicans and dissident Democrats. A number of environmental groups and climate activists were concerned about the Republicans’ caveats in
323 Ibid.
324 Ibid.
325 Ibid.
326 Ibid.
87 the ‘Customs Bill’.327 The provision in the House version of the Customs Bill, introduced by
Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would amend the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of
2015 ‘to ensure that trade agreements do not require changes to U.S. law or obligate the
United States with respect to global warming or climate change.’ A grand coalition of environmental groups – including 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for
International Environmental Law, Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green
America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, League of
Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club – sent a letter a letter to the United States Congress asking them to reject the anti-climate provisions in the
House version of the bill.328 The Center for International Environmental Law expanded upon these issues in a policy brief.329 The environmental groups and climate activists warned: ‘If accepted, it would limit the United States’ latitude to safeguard climate policies from trade attacks under existing and future trade agreements; it would inject even greater uncertainty into ongoing negotiations in the UNFCCC and other arenas by raising news questions about the scope of US negotiating authority; and it would raise serious challenges to the fulfillment
327 Center for International Environmental Law, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and the Sierra Club, ‘Groups demand rejection of anti-climate provision in Customs Bill’, Press Release 28 July
2015, http://www.ciel.org/news/groups-demand-rejection-of-anti-climate-provision-in-customs-bill/
328 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Food & Water
Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy,
League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club ‘Environmental
Groups Urge Conferees to Reject Anti-Climate Provision in House Customs Bill’, 28 July 2015, http://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Environmental-groups-urge-Conferees-to-reject-anti-climate- provision-in-House-Customs-Bill.pdf
329 Center for International Environmental Law, ‘The Customs Bill: An Unacceptable Barrier to Climate
Action‘, July 2015, http://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CIEL-Policy-Brief-The-Customs-Bill-and-
Climate-Change-July-2015.pdf
88
of formal agreements like the US-China commitment to facilitate trade in clean-energy technologies, and global commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.’ 330
Considering the Republicans’ rider, Carroll Muffett, President, Center for International
Environmental Law, complained: ‘The Customs Bill climate provision raises new and
significant barriers to effective action on climate change even as the window for taking that
action is closing rapidly.’331 William J. Snape, III, Senior Counsel, Center for Biological
Diversity was concerned that the Republicans were promoting climate denial in the Customs
Bill:
This is another head in the sand approach to global warming. Putting aside the undisputed fact that this
provision flies in the face of what is already happening in almost every other legal forum on climate
and trade, including at the World Trade Organization itself, this Customs Bill directly harms Americans
by taking away legal rights for citizens and businesses alike, all in the name of a far right ideological
crusade. There is no rational justification for the trade/climate provision in this current legislation.332
Luísa Abbott Galvão, climate and energy campaigner, Friends of the Earth, commented: ‘“It
is particularly disingenuous to say that climate change considerations shouldn’t fall under the
purview of trade agreements when these trade deals are likely to explicitly set in place rules
to liberalize the trade of fossil fuels.’ 333 Ilana Solomon, director of the Sierra Club’s
Responsible Trade Program said there was a need to stop this attempt to subvert climate
330 Center for International Environmental Law, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and
the Sierra Club, ‘Groups demand rejection of anti-climate provision in Customs Bill’, Press Release 28 July
2015, http://www.ciel.org/news/groups-demand-rejection-of-anti-climate-provision-in-customs-bill/
331 Ibid.
332 Ibid.
333 Ibid.
89
action: ‘The same Republicans that are endangering our future by denying the reality of
climate disruption are now sneaking anti-climate language into trade bills.’334 She warned:
‘Trade deals like the TPP already put our climate in peril, and this language would make
already bad trade pacts even worse for our planet.’335 Solomon insisted: ‘Members of
Congress who care about our air, water, and climate action must remove this damaging
provision from the bill.’336 Scott Slesinger, Legislative Director, Natural Resources Defense
Council, commented: ‘These provisions give new meaning to ‘climate denial,’ and they
should be stripped.’337
In a letter to the United States Trade Representative in July 2015, a group of 19 House
Democrats led by Earl Blumenauer expressed concerns about the environment chapter of the
TPP and its treatment of climate change.338 The Congressmen and women said: ‘We are also
deeply concerned about mitigating climate change.’339 The group commented: ‘While the
TPP was never going to be the forum to comprehensively address climate issues, it should set
the stage for TPP countries to move towards low-emissions economies.’340 The House
Democrats also stressed: ‘We also emphasize the importance of ensuring the TPP investment
334 Ibid.
335 Ibid.
336 Ibid.
337 Ibid.
338 Earl Blumenauer and others, ‘Letter to Ambassador Michael Froman on the TPP Environment
Chapter’, 29 July 2015 http://blumenauer.house.gov/images/pdf/072915 letter TPP.pdf
339 Ibid.
340 Ibid.
90
chapter protects the right of each of the TPP countries to make and fairly enforce strong environmental protections, including those relating to climate change.’341
A number of Presidential contenders have raised concerns about the TPP. Vermont
Independent and Democrat Presidential aspirant Bernie Sanders has been a steadfast critic of
the TPP, and other trade deals promoted by the United States Trade Representative.342 He has also been an advocate of substantive climate action, and an opponent of the Keystone XL
Pipeline. Hillary Clinton has equivocated on the TPP. In her book, Hard Choices, Clinton expressed deep concerns about investor clauses, and called for proper safeguards for labor rights, the environment, and public health.343 Under pressure from Sanders, Clinton has come out in opposition to the TPP.344
D. The Final Text
In October 2015, the final text of the TPP was agreed to by the member states in Atlanta, and
it was published in November 2015.345 There was much controversy over the failure to
341 Ibid.
342 Jonathan Tasini, The Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America, Chelsea Green Publishing,
2015, http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Bernie-Sanders-Vision-America/dp/1603586679
343 Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hard Choices, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014, 428.
344 Ben Jacobs, Lauren Gambino, and Sabrina Siddiqui, ‘Hillary Clinton Breaks with Obama to Oppose
Trans-Pacific Partnership’, The Guardian, 8 October 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/us-
news/2015/oct/07/hillary-clinton-opposes-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp and Amanda Terkel and Zach Carter,
‘Hillary Clinton Comes Out Against TPP’, The Huffington Post, 7 October 2015,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/hillary-clinton-tpp 56157832e4b0fad1591a9289
345 The Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-
pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
91
mention ‘climate change’ at all in final iteration of the TPP – despite global warming being a
pressing environmental issue affecting the Pacific Rim.346
Article 20.15 speaks of a ‘Transition to a Low Emissions and Resilient Economy.’347 Article
20.15.1 provides that ‘The Parties acknowledge that transition to a low emissions economy requires collective action.’348 Article 20.15.2 insists that ‘the Parties recognise that each
Party’s actions to transition to a low emissions economy should reflect domestic
circumstances and capabilities and, consistent with Article 20.12 (Cooperative Frameworks),
Parties shall cooperate to address matters of joint or common interest’.349 The text provides
some examples of areas of co-operation: ‘Areas of cooperation may include, but are not
limited to: energy efficiency; development of cost-effective, low-emissions technologies and alternative, clean and renewable energy sources; sustainable transport and sustainable urban infrastructure development; addressing deforestation and forest degradation; emissions monitoring; market and non-market mechanisms; low-emissions, resilient development and sharing of information and experiences in addressing this issue’.350 Moreover, it provides that
346 Gareth Hutchens, ‘Climate Change Missing from Full Trans-Pacific Partnership Text’, Fairfax
Media, 5 November 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/details-of-transpacific-
partnership-finally-released-20151105-gkrivo html Reprinted in The Brisbane Times, WA Today, The Age,
The Sydney Morning Herald, Farm Online and The Rural.
347 Article 20.15 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
348 Article 20.15.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
349 Article 20.15.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
350 Ibid.
92
‘the Parties shall, as appropriate, engage in cooperative and capacity-building activities
related to transitioning to a low emissions economy.’351
The then Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb was indignant at the criticism that the TPP
failed to address the pressing global problem of climate change.352 He maintained:
Well, this is not a climate change policy. It's not an agreement to do with climate change, it's a trade
agreement.353
Robb seems caught between two positions. On the one hand, he tries to maintain that the TPP
provides strong environmental standards; and, on the other, he insists that the TPP has
nothing to do with the pressing environmental issue of our time, climate change. Ultimately,
this seems an awkward vacillation. Trade and climate change are not ‘two solitudes’. Trade
and climate change are inter-related. Even the World Trade Organization recognises that
there is a significant interaction between trade rules and climate change.354
351 Ibid.
352 Anna Henderson and Francis Keany, ‘Trade Minister Andrew Robb frustrated by TPP Critics; Warns
Them Not to “Jump at Shadows’, ABC, 6 November 2015, http://www.abc net.au/news/2015-11-06/trade-
minister-warns-tpp-critics-against-jumping-at-shadows/6918400; and Shalailah Medhora, ‘Andrew Robb
Defends TPP After Full Release of Trade Deal Document’, The Guardian, 6 November 2015,
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/06/andrew-robb-defends-tpp-after-full-release-of-trade-deal-
document
353 Michael Brissenden, ‘Andrew Robb: TPP is a Trade Agreement, not a Climate Change Agreement’,
ABC News, 6 November 2015, http://www.abc net.au/news/2015-11-06/andrew-robb:-tpp-is-a-trade-
agreement,-not-a/6918182
354 World Trade Organization, ‘Activities of the WTO and the Challenge of Climate Change’,
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop e/envir e/climate challenge e htm
93
Environmental and climate groups have been deeply concerned by the failure of the TPP to address climate change.
E. Civil Society
Climate activists have been deeply alarmed by the final deal in respect of the environment in the TPP.355
355 Karen Barlow, ‘Robb on the Trans-Pacific Partnership: “Read the Fine Print”’, The Huffington Post,
6 November 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2015/11/06/robb-stands-by-asia-pacific-trade- pact n 8483178 html; Binoy Kampmark, ‘A Trade Deal of Denial: Omissions and Sins in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership’, CounterPunch, 6 November 2015, http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/11/06/a-trade-deal-of- denial-omissions-and-sins-in-the-tpp/; Thom Mitchell, ‘TPP Environment Fears Confirmed by Final Text’,
New Matilda, 8 November 2015, https://newmatilda.com/2015/11/06/tpp-environment-fears-confirmed-by- final-text/ ; and Samantha Page, ‘Environmental Groups aren’t buying the TPP’s Wildlife Provisions’, Think
Progress, 10 November 2015, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/11/10/3720911/tpp-losing-support/; and
Niki Widdowson, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership – Light on Environment and Labour, Sweet on
Multinationals’, QUT News, 6 November 2015, https://www.qut.edu.au/law/about/news-events/news?news- id=99257; Clark Mindock, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Text: Climate Change Not Addressed, Trade Deal
Confirms “Worst Nightmares” for Environment’, International Business Times, 6 November 2015, http://www.ibtimes.com/trans-pacific-partnership-text-climate-change-not-addressed-trade-deal-confirms- worst-2170853 Justin Mikulka, ‘Breaking: Trans-Pacific Partnership Ignores Climate, Asks Countries to
Volunteer to Protect the Environment’, Desmog Blog, 5 November 2015, http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/05/breaking-trans-pacific-partnership-ignores-climate-asks-countries- volunteer-protect-environment
Gareth Hutchens, ‘TPP Contains “Worst Nightmare” for Greens’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November
2015, 5,
94
350.org executive director May Boeve commented that the TPP would be a disaster for action on climate change:
TPP makes climate change worse. By handing even more power to Big Oil, letting massive
corporations throw tantrum lawsuits at governments who dare to scale back emissions, and spreading
fracking further around the world, there's no question that TPP is an absolute disaster for our climate.
That's why so many people and organizations who care about climate change have repeatedly bashed
this corporate giveaway; suggesting otherwise is nothing short of misleading cynicism. Decision-
makers should know better than to try and distort our movement's position.356
Karthik Ganapathy, a spokesperson for environmental activist group 350.org at the time said of the TPP: ‘Let’s not suddenly forget why so many of us in the climate movement bitterly fought against fast-tracking this trade deal.’357 He noted: ‘TPP tilts the playing field in favor of multinational fossil fuel companies even more, and makes it easier for them to dig carbon out of the ground.’358 Karthik Ganapathy commented: ‘Loaded with provisions that would spread fracking across the world, and enable Exxon and Shell to throw multi-million dollar
http://www.pressreader.com/14292015110600000000001001?newspaper=the%20sydney%20morning%20her ald (print) ‘Climate Change missing from the TPP’, The Age, 6 November 2015, 6.
356 Ilana Solomon, ‘More than a Dozen Environmental Organizations Warn of Trans-Pacific Partnership
Risks’, The Huffington Post, 7 October 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/more-than-a- dozen-environ b 8253990 html?ir=Australia
357 Samantha Page, ‘What Does The New Environmental Chapter Mean For The TPP? Not Much,
Activists Say’, Think Progress, 31 July 2015, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/31/3686695/tpp- environmental-chapter/
358 Ibid.
95
tantrum lawsuits at any government that dares to regulate carbon emissions, TPP was and is
an absolute disaster for our climate.’359
Disgusted by the final text of the TPP, 350.org complained that the agreement would
‘rollback multilateral environmental agreements, weaken conservation rules, give new rights
to the fossil fuel industry to challenge climate protections, and lock in natural gas exports and
fracking.’360 350.org Policy Director Jason Kowalski lamented that the agreement was a case of climate denial:
The TPP is an act of climate denial. While the text is full of handouts to the fossil fuel industry, it
doesn’t mention the words climate change once. The agreement would give fossil fuel companies the
extraordinary ability to sue local governments that try and keep fossil fuels in the ground. If a province
puts a moratorium on fracking, corporations can sue; if a community tries to stop a coal mine,
corporations can overrule them. In short, these rules undermine countries’ ability to do what scientists
say is the single most important thing we can do to combat the climate crisis: keep fossil fuels in the
ground.361
Jason Kowalski maintained that ‘The United States should be in the business of supporting
the just transition to 100% renewable energy, not propping up the fossil fuel based economy
of the past’.362 He stressed: ‘While institutions across the planet are divesting from fossil
fuels, the TPP would double down on the industry’s destructive business model’.363 Jason
359 Ibid.
360 350.org, ‘350.org: TPP Text Confirms a Handout to the Fossil Fuel Industry’, Press Release, 5
November 2015, http://350.org/press-release/350-org-tpp-text-confirms-a-handout-to-fossil-fuels/
361 Ibid.
362 Ibid.
363 Ibid.
96
Kowalski highlighted the conflict between the TPP and the Paris Climate Talks: ‘The
agreement works at absolute cross purposes to governments’ attempts to reach a strong
climate deal in Paris’.364 He commented: ‘As the world accelerates towards a clean energy future, the TPP is a dangerous detour that must be avoided.’365
‘The TPP ignores climate change completely and this is a major setback,’ said IATP's
Climate Director Ben Lilliston. 366 He lamented: ‘Past trade deals have driven an extractive
mode of globalization that has led to mass deforestation, fossil fuel withdrawal and an
energy-intensive industrial model of agriculture.’367 In his view, ‘TPP is more of the same-- an outdated, climate-damaging trade deal.’368 U.S. Climate Plan Executive Director Evan
Weber: said: ‘The TPP is likely to provide fossil fuel companies and other polluters new tools to avoid regulations and fight policies designed to protect our climate and our communities.’369 Weber despaired: ‘Negotiated in secret by corporations and governments,
with public oversight and input expressly prohibited, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which
this corporate giveaway gets us any closer to preserving a liveable planet for future
generations.’370
364 Ibid.
365 Ibid.
366 Ilana Solomon, ‘More than a Dozen Environmental Organizations Warn of Trans-Pacific Partnership
Risks’, The Huffington Post, 7 October 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/more-than-a-
dozen-environ b 8253990 html?ir=Australia
367 Ibid.
368 Ibid.
369 Ibid.
370 Ibid.
97
Michael Brune of the Sierra Club commented: ‘The TPP would empower big polluters to
challenge climate and environmental safeguards in private trade courts and would expand
trade in dangerous fossil fuels that would increase fracking and imperil our climate.’371 With the release of the final text, he elaborated upon his deep misgivings about the deal:
We now have concrete evidence that the Trans-Pacific Partnership threatens our families, our
communities, and our environment. It’s no surprise that the deal is rife with polluter giveaways that
would undermine decades of environmental progress, threaten our climate, and fail to adequately
protect wildlife because big polluters helped write the deal. The words ‘climate change’ don’t even
appear in the text, a dead giveaway that this isn’t a 21st-century trade deal. It sets us back further,
empowering fossil fuel corporations to challenge our public health and climate safeguards in
unaccountable trade tribunals while increasing dirty fossil fuel exports and fracking.372
Brune lamented: ‘Many provisions in the deal’s environment chapter are toothless and fail to
offer any of the protections proponents of this deal have touted.’373 He maintained that the
United States Congress should block the deal: ‘Congress must stand up for American jobs,
clean air and water, and a healthy climate by rejecting the toxic Trans-Pacific Partnership.’374
371 Sierra Club, ‘Sierra Club: Congress Should Reject Polluter-Friendly Trans-Pacific Partnership’, Press
Release, 5 October 2015, http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/10/sierra-club-congress-should-reject-
polluter-friendly-trans-pacific
372 The Sierra Club, ‘TPP Text is “Concrete Evidence” of Toxic Deal’, Press Release, 5 November 2015,
http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/11/sierra-club-tpp-text-concrete-evidence-toxic-deal
373 Ibid.
374 Ibid.
98
The Defenders of Wildlife were disturbed by the lack of attention paid to climate change.375
The civil society group said: ‘Most alarmingly, climate change isn’t mentioned a single time
in the environment chapter’.376 The Defenders of Wildlife said: ‘It is ridiculous that in 2015,
twelve of the world’s nations would construct a trade deal of this magnitude and not even
consider the effects of climate change on industries like agriculture or fishing, or ways to
prevent worsening global warming through our own economic activities’.377 The Defenders
of Wildlife were alarmed by the climate denial in the trade agreement: ‘Climate change is
happening right now: Species are disappearing and extreme weather events like hurricanes,
crippling drought and wildfires are become more prevalent across the world’.378
Australian Green groups said that the TPP would undermine environmental action and limit
the ability of governments to take action on climate change.379 Senator Peter Whish-Wilson of the Australian Greens warned: ‘This is a watershed moment for the Liberals and the mining industry in their continuing assault against environmental protections in Australia.’380
He feared: ‘ISDS will provide a massive chilling effect against improvements in
environmental law at a local, state and federal level.’381 Kelly O'Shanassy, chair of the
375 Defenders of Wildlife, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership falls short for Wildlife’, Press Release, 5 November
2015, http://www.defenders.org/press-release/trans-pacific-partnership-falls-short-wildlife
376 Ibid.
377 Ibid.
378 Ibid.
379 Peter Hannam, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Bad for the Environment, Green Groups Say’, The Sydney
Morning Herald, 7 October 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/environment/transpacific-partnership-bad-for-the-
environment-green-groups-say-20151006-gk2bga.html
380 Ibid.
381 Ibid.
99
Australian Conservation Foundation, observed it would be ‘a very silly idea to lock in
restrictions to future policy in this country.’382 She was concerned that the TPP would limit
nations' ability to take the necessary additional steps to take action on climate change: ‘It
means governments won't be bold and ambitious as they should be.’383 Thom Mitchell of
New Matilda also highlighted concerns about the agreement amongst Australian
environmentalists and climate activists.384
Emma Gibson, Head of Program for Greenpeace Australia Pacific commented: ‘Although the text mentions emissions and the ozone layer, it does not confront the challenge of climate change, even though the international community recognises that it is the most pressing global problem we face.’385
Maude Barlow, the chair of the Council of Canadians, was worried that the TPP would
undermine the international climate talks in Paris in 2015.386 Barlow noted that there were
high expectations for the Paris Climate Summit: ‘This is a historic gathering, and the last
chance for perhaps another decade for the nations of the world to truly and meaningfully
382 Ibid.
383 Ibid.
384 Thom Mitchell, ‘Warnings Trans-Pacific Partnership will undermine Environmental Protections’, New
Matilda, 6 October 2015, https://newmatilda.com/2015/10/06/warnings-trans-pacific-partnership-will-
undermine-environmental-protections/
385 Greenpeace Australia, ‘TPP environmental provisions a major disappointment’, 6 November 2015,
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/mediacentre/media-releases/climate/TPP-environmental-provisions-a-
major-disappointment/
386 Maude Barlow, ‘UN Climate Change Agreement Must Address Corporate Right to Sue Countries’, The
Huffington Post, 22 September 2015, http://www huffingtonpost.ca/maude-barlow/corporations-un-climate-
change b 8179118.html
100
come to an agreement to seriously reduce greenhouse gas emissions.’387 She was concerned
about the impact of trade agreements and investor clauses upon the climate deal: ‘The central
problem is that many of the same countries pledging to take serious action on climate change
are also party to, or are aggressively negotiating, trade and investment deals that contain a
mechanism that gives large corporations the right to challenge any changes to the current
rules under which they operate.’388 Barlow maintained: ‘We also hope that the climate and
trade justice communities will adopt the demand that the threat of ISDS must be part of any
meaningful discussions in Paris.’389
Osgoode Hall and York University Professor Gus van Harten has argued that there needs to
be a carve-out from investor-state dispute settlement to support action on climate change.390
Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University has warned that, under the
TPP, polluters could sue governments for setting limits for carbon emissions.391 He noted:
‘We know we’re going to need regulations to restrict the emissions of carbon.’392 He worried:
387 Ibid.
388 Ibid.
389 Ibid.
390 Gus Van Harten, ‘An ISDS Carve-Out to Support Action on Climate Change’, Osgoode Legal Studies
Research Paper No. 38/2015, 20 September 2015, Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2663504 or
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2663504
391 Amy Goodman, ‘Joseph Stiglitz: Under TPP, Polluters Could Sue U.S. For Setting Carbon Emissions
Limits’, Democracy Now!, 27 October 2015,
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/10/27/joseph stiglitz under tpp polluters could See also Clayton Aldern,
‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Could Undermine Climate Regulations, Top Economist Warns’, Grist, 28 October
2015, http://grist.org/news/trans-pacific-partnership-could-undermine-climate-regulations-top-economist-warns/
392 Ibid.
101
‘But under these provisions, corporations can sue the government, including the American
government, by the way, so it’s all the governments in the TPP can be sued for the loss of
profits as a result of the regulations that restrict their ability to emit carbon emissions that
lead to global warming.’393
Green groups have demanded that the United States Congress reject the TPP – unless there
are significant and major reforms to the agreement in respect of climate action.394 The groups called for ‘Protections for countries to implement rules and safeguards that address climate change, including commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC).’395 The coalition highlighted that ‘There is a direct connection between
increased trade and increased climate-disrupting emissions and an increasing number of trade
and investment cases that directly challenge climate and clean energy policies’.396 The green
groups asked that ‘the TPP should require countries to live up to their commitments in the
393 Ibid.
394 Timothy Cama and Vicki Needham, ‘Several Green Groups Outline Demands for Pacific Trade Pact’,
The Hill, 29 October 2015, http://thehill.com/policy/finance/258539-greens-outline-demands-for-pacific-trade-
pact See 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice,
Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Sustain US, ‘Re:
Environmental Provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 29 October 2015,
https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/tpp%20letter%20final 0.pdf
395 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice,
Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Sustain US, ‘Re:
Environmental Provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 29 October 2015, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/tpp%20letter%20final 0.pdf
396 Ibid.
102
UNFCCC and explicitly protect the ability of countries to adopt, maintain, and implement
rules and policies to address climate change including greenhouse gas emission standards,
feed-in tariffs, a carbon cap and/or tax and any related border tax adjustments, renewable energy programs, government programs that cultivate local production of clean energy and green goods, and energy efficiency standards or labels.’397 In their view, such measures
would help ensure the TPP did not undermine effective international climate action.
There was concern at the Paris 2015 Climate Talks that the TPP has undermined climate
action.398
397 Ibid.
398 Devlin Kuyek, ‘The Secretive Trade Agreements that could Scupper Climate Change Action’, The
Guardian, 30 November 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/nov/30/paris-climate-
change-talks-secretive-trade-agreements-ttp-ttip?CMP=share btn tw and Alexandra Macmillan and Rhys
Jones, ‘TPP Must not Block the Path to Healthy Climate Action’, New Zealand Herald, 27 November 2015,
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/climate-change/news/article.cfm?c id=26&objectid=11552338
103
Conclusion
Courtenay Lewis, Sierra Club, https://twitter.com/courtsretorts/status/651602763214811136/photo/1
The TPP is an ambitious free trade agreement, with a far-reaching scope in respect of the environment, biodiversity, and climate change. There has been much disquiet about the secretive and anti-democratic nature of the negotiations thus far. The Green Party of Aotearoa
New Zealand, the Australian Greens and the Green Party of Canada observe: ‘Yet while
representatives of AT&T, Verizon, Cisco, major pharmaceutical companies and the Motion
Picture Association of America have access to the text, democratically elected members of 104
parliament, advocacy organisations for healthcare and the environment and ordinary citizens
are being left out in the cold’. 399 The texts of the TPP should have been made public at first
instance, so that there could have been a full and frank discussion of the impact of the proposed treaty upon conservation, biodiversity, and climate change. As it stands, the agreement will be presented as a fait accompli to the participating nations in the Pacific Rim.
In addition, there has been much concern about the substantive content of the Environment
Chapter of the TPP. The contention of this paper has been the Environment Chapter of the
TPP has been an exercise in government greenwashing. Naomi Klein noted that President
Barack Obama had used a similar strategy for the TPP to that deployed by President Bill
Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in the NAFTA debate:
This is pathetic. A betrayal. For real, folks. Memories of how Big Green helped push through
NAFTA.400
An examination of the draft and final texts of the Environment Chapter of the TPP reveals a host of problems. There are concerns about whether the TPP does much to reinforce the network of international environmental and climate law (especially as the United States has not necessarily been a party to some key multilateral agreements). The TPP Environment
Chapter lacks a strong regime for enforcement. The TPP does little to provide protection for the biodiversity of the Pacific Rim – even though this biodiversity is under threat from
399 The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Australian Greens and the Green Party of Canada, Joint
Statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, https://home.greens.org.nz/press-releases/joint-statement-trans-
pacific-partnership-agreement-green-party-aotearoa-new-zealand
400 Naomi Klein, ‘NAFTA and the TPP’, 6 October 2015,
https://twitter.com/NaomiAKlein/status/651054609407045632
105
various developments, including urbanization, deforestation, and climate change. The TPP is
weak on the question of the protection of the oceans. The provisions of conservation have
been oversold. The trade in environmental services and goods will be counteracted by the
trade in fossil fuels. There are deep abiding tensions between the TPP and the efforts to
achieve a substantive international agreement on climate change. Overall, the Environment
Chapter of the TPP is dispiriting. For the boasts and bluster, the agreement does not achieve
its ambition of providing for a strong network of environmental regulation across the Pacific
Rim. As Michael Brune warned: ‘The TPP's environment chapter might look nice on the
surface but will be hollow on the inside, and history gives us no reason to believe that TPP
rules on conservation challenges such as the illegal timber or wildlife trade will ever be
enforced.’401 Likewise, Greenpeace research specialist Charlie Cray said: ‘This is a cynical,
last-minute sop intended to divide the environmental community, and doesn't change the fact
that the TPP will likely do more harm than good’. 402 Cray added: ‘There is no way green-
looking window-dressing can make up for a secretly negotiated trade agreement that, by design, empowers multinationals to undermine environmental standards." 403
401 Ilana Solomon, ‘More than a Dozen Environmental Organizations Warn of Trans-Pacific Partnership
Risks’, The Huffington Post, 7 October 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/more-than-a-
dozen-environ b 8253990 html?ir=Australia
402 Ilana Solomon, ‘More than a Dozen Environmental Organizations Warn of Trans-Pacific Partnership
Risks’, The Huffington Post, 7 October 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/more-than-a-
dozen-environ b 8253990 html?ir=Australia
403 Ibid.
106
This impression is reinforced by a consideration of other related Chapters of the TPP.404 In
addition to the Environment Chapter, a number of other Chapters of the TPP will impact
upon the environment, biodiversity, and climate change. In October 2015, WikiLeaks
published the Final Text of the Intellectual Property chapter of the TPP.405 In November
2015, the full text of the TPP was published. The Intellectual Property chapter is chapter 18 of the TPP.406 The Intellectual Property chapter includes text on patent law; trade mark law;
copyright law; data protection; and intellectual property enforcement.407 A number of the
United States proposals are designed to boost the intellectual property rights of agricultural companies, the biotechnology industry, and the food industry. There has been much discussion about the impact of the Intellectual Property Chapter upon information
technology, access to essential medicines, and the plain packaging of tobacco products.408
There has been an insufficient attention, thus far, to the question of intellectual property,
clean technologies, and climate change. In international summits on the environment and
404 Jane Kelsey, ‘TPPA Environment Chapter and Chair’s Commentary Posted by Wikileaks – Issues for
NZ’, 16 January 2014, http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TPPA-Environment-
Chapter.pdf
405 WikiLeaks, ‘TPP Treaty: Intellectual Property Rights Chapter’, 5 October 2015,
https://wikileaks.org/tpp-ip3/
406 Chapter 18 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
407 Matthew Rimmer, 'Our Future is at Risk: Disclose the Trans-Pacific Partnership Now', New Matilda,
15 November 2013, https://newmatilda.com/2013/11/15/our-future-risk-disclose-tpp-now and Matthew
Rimmer, ‘The TPP Protects Old Companies at the Expense of the New’, ABC, The Drum, 6 October 2015,
http://www.abc net.au/news/2015-10-06/rimmer-tpp-favours-old-ip-industries/6830884
408 Matthew Rimmer, 'A Mercurial Treaty: The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the United States', The
Conversation, 15 June 2012, https://theconversation.edu.au/a-mercurial-treaty-the-trans-pacific-partnership-and-
the-united-states-7471
107 climate change, there have been fierce debates over text on intellectual property and clean technologies.409 The United States has taken an uncompromising position of promoting strong intellectual property rights protection in respect of environmentally sustainable technologies. Members of the BASIC Group – Brazil, India, China, and South Africa – and developing countries have argued for recognition of flexibilities in respect of intellectual property rights – such as patent pools, public sector licensing, technology transfer, and compulsory licensing. Least-developed countries, small island states, and Progressive Latin
American countries have argued that certain clean technologies should be in the public domain. At the urging of industry groups, the United States, though, has sought to block any such text on flexibilities on intellectual property, green technologies and technology transfer.410 There has been a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Climate Technology Centre and Network established to promote the research, development and deployment of clean technologies. 411 While blocking text on intellectual property on the environment in multilateral forums, the United States has aggressively pushed for high standards for intellectual property at the TPP talks. There has been a concern that an intellectual property maximalist regime would undermine sustainable environment, the
409 Matthew Rimmer, Intellectual Property and Climate Change: Inventing Clean Technologies,
Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, September 2011, http://www.e- elgar.co.uk/bookentry main.lasso?id=13601 and Matthew Rimmer, 'Intellectual Property and Global
Warming: Fossil Fuels and Climate Justice' in Matthew David and Debora Halbert (ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intellectual Property, London: Sage Publications, 2014, 727-753.
410 Intellectual Property Owners Association, ‘Letter to Hillary Clinton and US Negotiators at Rio+20’, http://www.ipo.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Board Resolutions and Position Statements&ContentID=335
86&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm
411 Matthew Rimmer, 'Climate Justice for Intellectual Property at Durban', The Conversation, 8 December
2011, http://theconversation.edu.au/climate-justice-for-intellectual-property-at-durban-4572
108
protection of biodiversity, and the transfer of clean technologies, particularly to developing
countries, least developed countries, and island states. The Green Party of Aotearoa New
Zealand, the Australian Greens and the Green Party of Canada have questioned a model
promoting intellectual property rights for big, multinational companies. 412 Their
counterparts - the European Greens – have more generally called for a balanced approach to
intellectual property, technology transfer, and climate change.413
There has also been much concern about the proposals in respect of the Investment
Chapter.414 The investor-state dispute settlement regime would enable foreign investors to
bring tribunal action against nation states in respect of government decisions, which
adversely affect their foreign investments. In 2015, WikiLeaks published a draft version of the Investment Chapter of the TPP.415 The final text of the Investment Chapter was published
in November 2015.416 The regime proposes the establishment of an investor-state dispute
resolution mechanism. The draft text has only weak protections and safeguards in respect of
412 The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Australian Greens and the Green Party of Canada,
‘Joint Statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, https://home.greens.org nz/press-releases/joint-statement-
trans-pacific-partnership-agreement-green-party-aotearoa-new-zealand
413 The European Greens and the European Free Alliance, Climate Change, Technology Transfer and
Intellectual Property, 9 May 2012,
http://www.greens-efa.eu/climate-change-technology-transfer-and-intellectual-property-5484.html
414 Matthew Rimmer, 'A Dangerous Investment: Australia, New Zealand, and the Trans-Pacific
Partnership', The Conversation, 2 July 2012, http://theconversation.edu.au/a-dangerous-investment-australia-
new-zealand-and-the-trans-pacific-partnership-7440
415 WikiLeaks, ‘Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Investment Chapter’, 20 January 2015,
https:// wikileaks.org/tpp-investment
416 Chapter 9 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
109
the environment. United States Trade Representative spokesperson, Nkenge Harom, has
maintained:
This [Obama] administration is committed to ensuring strong environmental, public health and safety
laws. Nothing in our Trans-Pacific Partnership investment proposal could impair our government's
ability to pursue legitimate, non-discriminatory public interest regulation, including measures to protect
public health, public safety and the environment.’417
Nonetheless, Senior Democrat and United States Congressman Henry Waxman has been
concerned that the TPP lacks appropriate and meaningful safeguards in respect of the
environment, labor rights, and public health.418 Senator Christine Milne from the Australian
Greens has been particularly concerned about the Investment Chapter of the TPP.419 She
observed: ‘US negotiators have been working hard to get a deal that would allow a foreign
company to sue an Australian government because an Australian law reduces their profits or
adversely affects their business.’420 Milne commented: ‘These Investor State Dispute
Settlement provisions are central to the negotiations from the US point of view as big
tobacco, big oil, big agribusiness and big pharmaceuticals come back for what they didn't get
417 Zach Carter, ‘Obama Trade Document Leaked, Revealing New Corporate Powers And Broken
Campaign Promises’, The Huffington Post, 13 June 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/obama-trade-document-leak n 1592593 html
418 Henry Waxman, ‘Remarks on the Fifth Anniversary of the “May 10 Agreement”’, Infojustice.org, 15
May 2012, http://infojustice.org/archives/23270
419 Christine Milne, ‘Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Dead in the Water?’, The Australian Greens, 13
March 2012, http://christine-milne.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/trans-pacific-partnership-
negotiation-dead-water
420 Ibid.
110
under the US Australia free trade agreement.’421 Margrete Strand Rangnes, Labor and Trade
Director for the Sierra Club, said: ‘This investment chapter would severely undermine
attempts to strengthen environmental law and policy.’422 Erich Pica, President of Friends of
the Earth US, commented: ‘The TPP would allow transnational corporations to challenge
environmental laws that protect our air, land and water’. 423 Pica worried: ‘The TPP could lead to an explosion in natural gas and other energy exports — something that would expand dangerous fracking and accelerate global warming.’424 Dr Kyla Tienhaara has warned that the
TPP could result in an expropriation of environmental governance.425 Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune commented: ‘The TPP would empower big polluters to challenge climate and environmental safeguards in private trade courts and would expand trade in dangerous fossil fuels that would increase fracking and imperil our climate.’426
421 Ibid.
422 Zach Carter, ‘Obama Trade Document Leaked, Revealing New Corporate Powers And Broken
Campaign Promises’, The Huffington Post, 13 June 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/obama-trade-document-leak n 1592593 html
423 Friends of the Earth, http://www.foe.org/projects/economics-for-the-earth/trade/trans-pacific-
partnership
424 Ibid.
425 Kyla Tienhaara, The Expropriation of Environmental Governance: Protecting Foreign Investors at the
Expense of Public Policy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009; and see also Tienhaara, Kyla (2014).
‘Varieties of green capitalism: economy and environment in the wake of the global financial crisis’ (2014) 23
(2) Environmental Politics 187-204.
426 Ilana Solomon, ‘More than a Dozen Environmental Organizations Warn of Trans-Pacific Partnership
Risks’, The Huffington Post, 7 October 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-solomon/more-than-a-
dozen-environ b 8253990 html?ir=Australia
111
There has also been debate about the Chapter on Technical Barriers to Trade and its impact
upon environmental regulation.427 In 2012, the World Trade Organization found in favour of
Mexico against United States regulations on a Dolphin-Safe Eco-Label under the Agreement
on Technical Barriers to Trade.428 Referring to the 2012 ruling, Lori Wallach of Public
Citizen commented: ‘The Obama administration must stand with the thousands of Americans
who have signed a Consumer Rights Pledge calling on the U.S. to not comply with these
illegitimate trade pact rulings and to stop the TPP trade negotiations that would greatly
intensify this problem.’429 This decision was reaffirmed in a decision in 2015, and a further appellate decision.430 There has been much disquiet as to the impact of the decision, and
what it means for the treatment of environmental issues in the WTO.431
427 Chapter 8 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
428 US — Tuna II (Mexico) http://www.wto.org/english/tratop e/dispu e/cases e/ds381 e.htm
429 Public Citizen, ‘Public Citizen Condemns WTO Attack on U.S. Dolphin Protection Efforts, 16 May
2012, http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2012/05/public-citizen-condemns-wto-attack-on-us-dolphin-
protection-efforts html
430 US – Tuna II (Mexico) https://www.wto.org/english/tratop e/dispu e/cases e/ds381 e.htm
431 Public Citizen, ‘Flipper vs. Fast Track: World Trade Organization Again Rules against “Dolphin-Safe”
Label, says U.S. Policy Still Violates WTO Rules, Must Go’, Public Citizen, 14 April 2015,
http://www.citizen.org/documents/press-release-wto-dolphin-safe-tuna-april-2015.pdf Ben Beachy, ‘The WTO
Just Dealt a Blow to U.S. Consumers and Dolphins’, Sierra Club, 20 November 2015,
http://www.sierraclub.org/compass/2015/11/wto-just-dealt-blow-us-consumers-and-dolphins and David Dayen,
‘WTO Ruling on Dolphin-Safe Tuna Labeling Illustrates Supremacy of Trade Agreements’, The Intercept, 24
November 2015, https://theintercept.com/2015/11/24/wto-ruling-on-dolphin-safe-tuna-labeling-illustrates-
supremacy-of-trade-agreements/
112
There has been a discussion as to whether the TPP will affect environmental labelling schemes – such as eco-labels, carbon reduction labels, and GM labels.432 A Coalition of
Green Groups commented: ‘Were the TPP to replicate or expand on the WTO’s TBT rules, it would expose an array of U.S. environmental labels and labeling initiatives to challenge, including those designed to protect animal safety, encourage energy efficiency and inform consumers about products with genetically modified ingredients.’ 433
The Final Text of the Development Chapter of the TPP is also disappointing, because it fails to require binding commitments in respect of government action on sustainable development.434
There has also been discussion as to whether the Procurement Chapter will any way limit sustainable government procurement. Public Citizen has been concerned that such text may
432 Matthew Rimmer, 'Just Label It: Consumer Rights, GM Food Labelling, and International Trade', in
Charles Lawson and Berris Charnley (ed.), Intellectual Property and Genetically Modified Organisms: A
Convergence in Laws, Farnham (Surrey): Ashgate Publishing, March 2015, 143-184.
433 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice,
Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Greenpeace USA, Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, and Sustain US, ‘Re:
Environmental Provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 29 October 2015, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/tpp%20letter%20final 0.pdf
434 Chapter23 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text; and Matthew Rimmer, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Poses a Grave Threat to Sustainable Development’, The Conversation, 11 November 2015, https://theconversation.com/the-trans-pacific-partnership-poses-a-grave-threat-to-sustainable-development-
50398
113
limit a Nation State’s ability to pass procurement laws aimed at achieving certain public
policy objectives.435
Overall, the agreement will do little to promote the protection of the environment,
sustainable development, and climate. In a piece for the Boston Globe, Professor Jeffrey
Sachs of Columbia University has said of the package in the TPP:
Perhaps most disappointing is the lack of creativity in the development, labor, and environmental
chapters. Yes, they rhetorically defend global economic development, labor standards, and
environmental sustainability, but they do so without specific enforcement powers. Why is it that
companies can force arbitration tribunals to defend their investor rights, but workers have no such
power? Why is climate change not even considered in the draft, despite the fact that it represents the
most important environmental threat of the 21st century, and may have strong implications for future
trade rules?436
Given the combination of measures, the TPP promises to have a significant negative impact
upon the environment, biodiversity, and climate change across the Pacific Rim. There is a
need to develop a new model of trade, which respects workers and the environment.437
435 Public Citizen, http://www.citizen.org/tpp
436 Jeffrey Sachs, ‘TPP is Too Flawed for a Simple “Yes” Vote’, Boston Globe, 8 November 2015,
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/11/08/jeffrey-sachs-tpp-too-flawed-for-simple-yes-
vote/sZd0nlnCr18RurX1n549GI/story html See also International Centre for Trade and Sustainable
Development, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Pact Text Published, Environment Chapter Scrutinised’, BioRes,
12 November 2015,
http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/biores/news/trans-pacific-partnership-trade-pact-text-released-environment-
chapter
437 Michael Brune, and Randi Weingarten, ‘Desperately Seeking a New Model for Trade’, Al-Jazeera, 21
May 2015, http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/5/desperately-seeking-a-new-model-for-trade.html
114
MARCH 2016
THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL MEDICINES
Zahara Heckscher Protests against the TPP
DR MATTHEW RIMMER PROFESSOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION LAW FACULTY OF LAW QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Queensland University of Technology 2 George Street GPO Box 2434 Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia Work Telephone Number: (07) 31381599 E-Mail Address: [email protected]
1
Executive Summary
This submission provides a critical analysis of a number of Chapters in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership addressing intellectual property, public health, and access to essential medicines
– including Chapter 18 on Intellectual Property, Chapter 9 on Investment, and Annex 26 on
‘Healthcare Transparency.’
The United States Trade Representative has argued: ‘The Intellectual Property chapter also includes commitments to promote not only the development of innovative, life-saving drugs and treatments, but also robust generic medicine markets.’ The United States maintained:
‘Drawing on the principles underlying the “May 10, 2007” Congressional-Executive
Agreement, included in agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama, and Korea, the chapter includes transitions for certain pharmaceutical IP provisions, taking into account a Party’s level of development and capacity as well as its existing laws and international obligations.’
The United States Trade Representative also argued that the agreement protected public health: ‘The chapter incorporates the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public
Health, and confirms that Parties are not prevented from taking measures to protect public health, including to respond to epidemics such as HIV/AIDS.’
Australia’s Regulatory Impact Statement says that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is designed to ‘incentivise investment in new pharmaceutical inventions and products, while aiming to ensure TPP countries can take measures to protect public health and support timely and affordable access to medicines.’
2
In its National Interest Analysis, New Zealand maintains that there are sufficient and adequate safeguards for public health in respect of Intellectual Property, Investment, and
‘Health Transparency.’
Canada is currently holding an open consultation on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Questions over intellectual property, public health, and access to essential medicines have been foregrounded by the incredible investor action by Eli Lilly against the Government of Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement 1994.
This analysis raises concerns that the provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership will threaten access to essential medicines across the Pacific Rim.
Recommendation 1
Overall, the Trans-Pacific Partnership strengthens the substantive and
procedural rights of pharmaceutical drug companies, medical manufacturers,
and biotechnology organisations under the Intellectual Property, Investment, and
‘Transparency’ Chapters.
Recommendation 2
There has been a great deal of concern about the influence of pharmaceutical
drug companies, medical manufacturers, and biotechnology organisations in the
secret negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership. There has been inadequate
input from public health advocates and defenders into the final agreement.
3
Recommendation 3
The Trans-Pacific Partnership does little positive to provide for access to essential medicines across the Pacific Rim. Indeed, the combination of measures contained in the agreement will undermine access to essential medicines in the region.
Recommendation 4
The Trans-Pacific Partnership will seek to lengthen, broaden, and strengthen the patent rights of pharmaceutical drug companies, medical manufacturers, and biotechnology organisations across the Pacific Rim. This will affect patient care, freedom of research, and the administration and cost of health-care.
Recommendation 5
The Trans-Pacific Partnership also erects significant regulatory barriers – with data protection, market exclusivity for biologics, and civil and criminal remedies for trade secrets.
Recommendation 6
The Trans-Pacific Partnership also enables intellectual property owners to bring actions under the investor-state dispute settlement regime established by the
Investment Chapter. The investor dispute between Eli Lilly and the Government of Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement 1994 highlights the dangers of such a regime.
4
Recommendation 7
The Trans-Pacific Partnership also contains a ‘Health Transparency’ Annex, which contains provisions, which will enable pharmaceutical companies to oversee government decisions in respect of medicines and medical devices.
Recommendation 8
The World Health Organization has expressed concerns about the impact of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership and other mega-regional trade agreements upon the provision of public health-care.
5
Biography
Dr Matthew Rimmer is a Professor in Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the Faculty of Law, at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He is a leader of the QUT
Intellectual Property and Innovation Law research program, and a member of the QUT
Digital Media Research Centre (QUT DMRC) the QUT Australian Centre for Health Law
Research (QUT ACHLR), and the QUT International Law and Global Governance Research
Program. Rimmer has published widely on copyright law and information technology, patent law and biotechnology, access to medicines, plain packaging of tobacco products, intellectual property and climate change, and Indigenous Intellectual Property. He is currently working on research on intellectual property, the creative industries, and 3D printing; intellectual property and public health; and intellectual property and trade, looking at the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and the Trade in Services
Agreement. His work is archived at SSRN Abstracts and Bepress Selected Works.
Dr Matthew Rimmer holds a BA (Hons) and a University Medal in literature (1995), and a
LLB (Hons) (1997) from the Australian National University. He received a PhD in law from the University of New South Wales for his dissertation on The Pirate Bazaar: The Social Life of Copyright Law (1998-2001). Dr Matthew Rimmer was a lecturer, senior lecturer, and an associate professor at the ANU College of Law, and a research fellow and an associate director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) (2001 to
2015). He was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, working on Intellectual
Property and Climate Change from 2011 to 2015. He was a member of the ANU Climate
Change Institute.
6
Rimmer is the author of Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution: Hands off my iPod (Edward Elgar, 2007). With a focus on recent US copyright law, the book charts the consumer rebellion against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (US) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US). Rimmer explores the significance of key judicial rulings and considers legal controversies over new technologies, such as the iPod,
TiVo, Sony Playstation II, Google Book Search, and peer-to-peer networks. The book also highlights cultural developments, such as the emergence of digital sampling and mash-ups, the construction of the BBC Creative Archive, and the evolution of the Creative Commons.
Rimmer has also participated in a number of policy debates over Film Directors’ copyright, the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, the Copyright Amendment Act 2006
(Cth), the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has been an advocate for Fair IT Pricing in Australia.
Rimmer is the author of Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological
Inventions (Edward Elgar, 2008). This book documents and evaluates the dramatic expansion of intellectual property law to accommodate various forms of biotechnology from micro- organisms, plants, and animals to human genes and stem cells. It makes a unique theoretical contribution to the controversial public debate over the commercialisation of biological inventions. Rimmer also edited the thematic issue of Law in Context, entitled Patent Law and
Biological Inventions (Federation Press, 2006). Rimmer was also a chief investigator in an
Australian Research Council Discovery Project, ‘Gene Patents In Australia: Options For
Reform’ (2003-2005), an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, ‘The Protection of
Botanical Inventions’ (2003), and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project,
‘Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia’ (2009-2011). Rimmer has participated in inquiries into plant breeders’ rights, gene patents, and access to genetic resources.
7
Rimmer is a co-editor of a collection on access to medicines entitled Incentives for Global
Public Health: Patent Law and Access to Essential Medicines (Cambridge University Press,
2010) with Professor Kim Rubenstein and Professor Thomas Pogge. The work considers the intersection between international law, public law, and intellectual property law, and highlights a number of new policy alternatives – such as medical innovation prizes, the
Health Impact Fund, patent pools, open source drug discovery, and the philanthropic work of the (Red) Campaign, the Gates Foundation, and the Clinton Foundation. Rimmer is also a co- editor of Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies: The New Biology (Edward Elgar,
2012).
Rimmer is a researcher and commentator on the topic of intellectual property, public health, and tobacco control. He has undertaken research on trade mark law and the plain packaging of tobacco products, and given evidence to an Australian parliamentary inquiry on the topic.
Rimmer is the author of a monograph, Intellectual Property and Climate Change: Inventing
Clean Technologies (Edward Elgar, September 2011). This book charts the patent landscapes and legal conflicts emerging in a range of fields of innovation – including renewable forms of energy, such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal energy; as well as biofuels, green chemistry, green vehicles, energy efficiency, and smart grids. As well as reviewing key international treaties, this book provides a detailed analysis of current trends in patent policy and administration in key nation states, and offers clear recommendations for law reform. It considers such options as technology transfer, compulsory licensing, public sector licensing, and patent pools; and analyses the development of Climate Innovation Centres, the Eco-
Patent Commons, and environmental prizes, such as the L-Prize, the H-Prize, and the X-
8
Prizes. Rimmer is currently working on a manuscript, looking at green branding, trade mark law, and environmental activism.
Rimmer has also a research interest in intellectual property and traditional knowledge. He has written about the misappropriation of Indigenous art, the right of resale, Indigenous performers’ rights, authenticity marks, biopiracy, and population genetics. Rimmer is the editor of the collection, Indigenous Intellectual Property: A Handbook of Contemporary
Research (Edward Elgar, 2015).
Rimmer has supervised four students who have completed Higher Degree Research on the topics, Secret Business and Business Secrets: The Hindmarsh Island Affair, Information Law, and the Public Sphere (2007); Intellectual Property and Applied Philosophy(2010); The
Pharmacy of the Developing World: Indian Patent Law and Access to Essential
Medicines (2012); and Marine Bioprospecting: International Law, Indonesia and Sustainable
Development (2014). He has also supervised sixty-seven Honours students, Summer
Research Scholars, and Interns, and two graduate research unit Masters students.
9
Introduction
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a mega-regional agreement, involving a dozen countries across the Pacific Rim.1 The participants include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile,
Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
A number of other countries – such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea -
are contemplating joining the agreement at a future date. The sweeping trade agreement
covers a score of topics – including such matters as intellectual property, investment,
transparency in health procedures, and trade in services. The Trans-Pacific Partnership will
have a significant impact upon the health of everyone in the Pacific Rim – particularly insofar
as it affects the timely access to affordable medicines. There has been much concern that
citizens, consumers, and seniors have been ripped-off on the price of medicines by
multinational pharmaceutical drug companies.2 The problem is only likely to be exacerbated
by global trade deals – like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
1 The United States Trade Representative, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership’, https://ustr.gov/tpp/ For
commentary, see Jane Kelsey (ed.), No Ordinary Deal: Unmasking the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade
Agreement, Wellington: Bridget Williams Books Inc., 2010; Tania Voon (ed.), Trade Liberalisation and
International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, 2013; C.L. Lim, Deborah Elms and Patrick Low (ed.), The Trans-
Pacific Partnership: A Quest for a Twenty-First Century Trade Agreement, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2012; and Jane Kelsey, Hidden Agendas: What We Need to Know about the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement (TPPA), Wellington: Bridget Williams Books Limited, 2013.
2 Heath Aston, ‘Drug Companies Won’t Deny Australia is being “Ripped Off” on Medicines’, The
Canberra Times, 1 July 2015, http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/drug-companies-
wont-deny-australia-is-being-ripped-off-on-medicines-20150701-gi2fnz html
10
After many years of secret negotiations, representatives from a dozen countries from around
the Pacific Rim came to an agreement on the adoption of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a
Westin Hotel in Atlanta, the United States.3 The Ministers put out a statement, emphasizing:
After more than five years of intensive negotiations, we have come to an agreement that will support
jobs, drive sustainable growth, foster inclusive development, and promote innovation across the Asia-
Pacific region. Most importantly, the agreement achieves the goal we set forth of an ambitious,
comprehensive, high standard and balanced agreement that will benefit our nation’s citizens.
TPP brings higher standards to nearly 40 percent of the global economy. In addition to
liberalizing trade and investment between us, the agreement addresses the challenges our stakeholders
face in the 21st century, while taking into account the diversity of our levels of development. We
expect this historic agreement to promote economic growth, support higher-paying jobs; enhance
innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in our countries;
and to promote transparency, good governance, and strong labor and environmental protections.4
The final texts of the agreement were subsequently released in November.5 The Trans-
Pacific Partnership agreement has been controversial, though, both because of the secretive
nature of the negotiations, and the substance of the final agreement. Of particular concern has
been the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership upon public health and access to essential
medicines.
3 Jessica Glenza and agencies, ‘TPP Deal: US and 11 Other Countries Reach Landmark Pacific Trade
Pact’, The Guardian, 5 October 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/05/trans-pacific-
partnership-deal-reached-pacific-countries-international-trade
4 United States Trade Representative, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Ministers’ Statement’, October 2015,
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2015/october/trans-pacific-partnership-
ministers
5 The Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-
pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
11
Outside the closed Atlanta negotiations to finalise the Trans-Pacific Partnership, there was a dramatic protest by Zahara Heckscher, a breast cancer patient, writer, and educator, who was concerned about access to essential medicines.6 She was wearing a t-shirt reading ‘I HAVE
CANCER. I CAN'T WAIT 8 YEARS,’ and holding an IV pole that read ‘TPP: Don' t Cut My
IV.’7 Zahara Heckscher refused to leave the Westin Hotel, which was hosting the negotiations between the dozen trade ministers from around the world. She demanded that the negotiators show her the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, so she could verify for herself how the agreement would affect access to essential medicines. Zahara Heckscher said at the event:
I am not going to leave until the USTR shows me the secret death sentence clause, so I can verify that
the TPP is not going to prevent women like me with cancer from accessing the medicines we need to
stay strong and stay alive.8
The breast cancer patient was arrested for her protest at the Atlanta Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. Zahara Heckscher was particularly incensed about the proposal for special protection of biologics: ‘I got arrested because I learned about this death sentence clause in the TPP that would make these life-saving cancer drugs unavailable to women around the
6 Public Citizen, ‘Cancer Patient Demanding to see TPP “Death Sentence Clause” Arrested at Ministerial
Negotiations’, Eyes on Trade, Public Citizen’s Blog on 30 September 2015, http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2015/09/cancer-patient-arrested-tpp-ministerial.html
7 Ibid.
8 Amy Goodman, ‘Breast Cancer Patient Arrested for Protesting TPP: “This is Price Gouging at the Cost of Lives’, Democracy Now!, 6 October 2015, http://www.democracynow.org/2015/10/6/breast cancer patient arrested for protesting
12 world for a period of five years, eight years or 12 years.’9 She commented: ‘We call it the death sentence clause because it would actually condemn women to death, because they cannot afford or their healthcare systems can’t afford the medicines.’10
Zahara Heckscher and Hannah Lyon were also later arrested at the headquarters of the
Pharma lobby, protesting the clauses the industry inserted into the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.11
In the wake of the action, Zahara Heckscher urged the United States Congress to reject the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.12 She warned: ‘The TPP will effectively take some patients backwards in time to the dark ages of cancer treatment.’13 Zahara Heckscher was concerned that the agreement ‘will prevent too many people with cancer – and other life threatening illnesses – from accessing the new treatments they need to stay alive’.14 Zahara
Heckscher warned: ‘When science has the potential for them to be thrivers like me, living productive lives while in treatment, or to be cured, the TPP will be a death sentence.’15
Zahara Heckscher stressed: ‘The TPP is not a policy wonk issue’.16 In her view, ‘It is a
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Lori Wallach, ‘Cancer Patient Lays Bare the Danger of TPP and the “Pharma Bro” Problem’, The
Huffington Post, 11 February 2016, http://www huffingtonpost.com/lori-wallach/-cancer-patient-lays- bare b 9211092.html
12 Zahara Heckscher, ‘TPP Threatens Access to Medicines’, Public Citizen, 11 January 2016, http://www.citizen.org/documents/heckscher-media-statement-at-press-conference-january-2016.pdf
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
13
human issue that affects individuals like me who are fighting for our lives.’17 Zahara
Heckscher also observed that the agreement ‘affects our families too.’18 Thinking about her
own family, she reflected: ‘For my mother to die of breast cancer in the 1970s was a tragedy
for our family.’19 Zahara Heckscher concluded: ‘For people in the US and around the world to die unnecessary in this new millennium because of the TPP is a cruel, premeditated, and avoidable catastrophe.’20
At the time of writing, there remains fierce debate in the United States political system over
the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. After expending significant political capital,
President Barack Obama has obtained a Fast-Track authority for negotiating trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership from the United States Congress – with the help of
Republicans, and a few defectors from his own party, the Democrats.21 The agreement still needs to pass the United States Congress in a straight vote. There has been, though, significant criticism from Democrats about the impact of the trade deal – particularly in respect of public health. House Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi has argued that we need a new model for trade.22 Senior House United States Democrat Sandy Levin has stressed that the
Trans-Pacific Partnership ‘should not be loaded up with new anticompetitive provisions
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Paul Lewis, ‘Barack Obama Given “Fast-Track” Authority over Trade Deal Negotiations’, The
Guardian, 25 June 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/24/barack-obama-fast-track-trade-deal-
tpp-senate
22 Nancy Pelosi, ‘Trade Promotion Authority on its Last Legs’, USA Today, 15 June 2015, http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/06/15/congress-trade-fast-track-tpa-pelosi-column/71270294/
14
when governments struggle to manage health care costs.’23 Senator Elizabeth Warren has
expressed concern that the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been rigged in favour of
multinational companies.24
The Trans-Pacific Partnership has become a matter of fierce debate in the Presidential races.
Independent Bernie Sanders has expressed his opposition to the trade deal, warning that
‘prescription drug prices will increase, access to life saving drugs will decrease, and the
profits of drug companies will go up.’25 Presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton has expressed reservations about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and investor-state dispute settlement
23 Sander Levin, ‘Is TPP the Most Progressive Trade Agreement in History? Not if We Need Access to
Affordable Medicines’, The Huffington Post, 28 May 2015, http://www huffingtonpost.com/rep-sander-/is-tpp-
the-most-progressive-trade-agreement-in-history- b 7461734.html See also Sander Levin, ‘The Trans-Pacific
Partnership Negotiations: The Need for Congress to Get Fully in the Game’, Council on Foreign Relations, 18
September 2014.
24 George Zornick, ‘Elizabeth Warren Reveals Inside Details on Trade Talks’, The Nation, 15 May 2014,
http://www.thenation.com/blog/179885/elizabeth-warren-reveals-inside-details-trade-talks; Elizabeth Warren, A
Fighting Chance, New York: Metropolitan Books, 2014; Senator Elizabeth Warren, ‘The Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement’, United States, 26 February 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzfxv2XQoPg
Senator Elizabeth Warren, ‘Congress Should Oppose the TPP Deal’, United States Senate, 2 February 2016,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWXJJy Tq-U
25 Senator Bernie Sanders, ‘The Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement Must Be Defeated’, http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/the-trans-pacific-trade-tpp-agreement-must-be-defeated?inline=file
See also Senator Bernie Sanders, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Must Be Defeated’, The Huffington Post, 21
May 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/the-tpp-must-be-defeated b 7352166 html and
Ross Barkan, ‘Bernie Sanders Calls Agreement of Trans-Pacific Partnership “Disastrous”’, Observer, 10 May
2015, http://observer.com/2015/10/bernie-sanders-calls-agreement-of-trans-pacific-partnership-disastrous/
15
clauses.26 She has stressed that ‘we should avoid some of the provisions sought by business
interests, including our own, like giving them or their investors the power to sue foreign
governments to weaken their environmental and public health rules.’27 However, there has
been discussion as to whether Hillary Clinton would support the Trans-Pacific Partnership if
she ultimately won the Presidency.28 A number of Republican candidates have also been concerned about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, albeit for different reasons than concerns about public health. The populist Donald Trump, for instance, has been opposing the deal on the basis that it advantages countries such as China, and fails to address issues, as currency manipulation.29 Much will depend upon the Presidential election to really determine the
ultimate fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
26 Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hard Choices, New York: Simon & Schuster, 10 June 2014, 428. On the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, Clinton says: ‘We should avoid some of the provisions sought by business interests,
including our own, like giving them or their investors the power to sue foreign governments to weaken their
environmental and public health rules, as Philip Morris is already trying to do in Australia.’ She emphasized:
‘The United States should be advocating a level and fair playing field, not special favors.’
27 Zach Carter, Amanda Terkel and Ryan Grim, ‘Hillary Clinton agrees with Elizabeth Warren on Trade
Dispute With Obama’, The Huffington Post, 30 April 2015, http://www huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/hillary-
clinton-trans-pacific-partnership n 7173108 html?section=australia
28 Robert Naiman, ‘Chamber of Commerce Lobbyist Tom Donohue: Clinton Will Support TPP After
Election’, The Huffington Post, 28 January 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/chamber-of-
commerce-lobby b 9104096 html
29 David Dayen, ‘Trump Was Right about TPP Benefitting China’, The Intercept, 12 November 2015, https://theintercept.com/2015/11/11/trump-was-right-about-tpp-benefitting-china/ John Brinkley, ‘Donald
Trump: Stalking the Wild TPP’, Forbes, 12 November 2015,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbrinkley/2015/11/12/donald-trump-stalking-the-wild-tpp/#47d1ec2070cc and
Matthew Boyle, ‘Exclusive – Donald Trump: Obama’s Trans-Pacific Free-Trade Deal is “Insanity”’ , Breitbart,
9 November 2015, http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/09/exclusive-donald-trump-obamas-
trans-pacific-free-trade-deal-insanity/
16
In this context, this article considers the debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, looking at intellectual property, global public health, and access to essential medicines. As Professor
Lawrence Gostin has noted in his classic work on Global Public Health, this is an area of longstanding debate:
[Trade] opens markets not markets not only to life-saving products such as vaccines and medicines, but
also to life-threatening products such as tobacco or asbestos. Trade agreements also can make essential
medicines so expensive that they are out of reach for the poor.30
The Trans-Pacific Partnership raises significant new issues in this cross-over field between
intellectual property, public health, and trade. This discussion focuses upon the Intellectual
Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Part 1 addresses the text on public health and access to essential medicines, and rules on transitional periods. Part 2 considers issues relating to patentable subject matter, patent standards, patent term extensions and evergreening, patent registration linkages, and border measures. Part 3 looks at data
protection, the protection of biologics, and trade secrets. Part 4 focuses upon the relationship
intellectual property, public health, and investor-state dispute settlement. Part 5 considers the
Health ‘Transparency’ Annex. The conclusion considers the larger overall framework in
respect of intellectual property, public health, investment, and trade. It highlights the
commentary of the World Health Organization upon the health impacts of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.
30 Lawrence Gostin, Global Health Law, Cambridge (MA) and London: Harvard University Press, 2014,
270.
17
1. The Trans-Pacific Partnership And Access to Essential Medicines
There is a long history of geopolitical conflict over international law, intellectual property,
public health, and access to essential medicines.31 Notably, the world’s largest
pharmaceutical companies took action over South Africa’s efforts to obtain supplies of
generic medicines from India.32 This conflict is well recounted in the documentary Fire in the
Blood.33 In the face of international pressure, the action by the pharmaceutical drug
companies was withdrawn. The World Trade Organization passed the Doha Declaration on
the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in 2001 to recognise that countries could take action
under the TRIPS Agreement 1994 to address public health concerns.34 The WTO General
Council Decision 2003 was designed to facilitate the export of essential medicines to
developing countries and least developed countries.35 There was a discussion of the
31 Thomas Pogge, Matthew Rimmer and Kim Rubenstein, (ed.) Incentives for Global Public Health:
Patent Law and Access to Medicines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010; Frederick Abbott, Thomas
Cottier, and Francis Gurry, International Intellectual Property in an Integrated World Economy, Wolters
Kluwer Law & Business, 2015.
32 Peter Drahos and John Braithwaite, Information Feudalism: Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?
Earthscan, 2002.
33 Dylan Mohan Grey, Fire in the Blood, Sparkwater India, 2014, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1787067/
34 Ministerial Declaration: Adopted on 14 November 2001, WTO Doc WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1 [3] (2001)
('Doha Declaration'); and Frederick Abbott, ‘The Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public
Health: Lighting a Dark Corner at the WTO’ (2002) 5 Journal of International Economic Law 469-505.
35 Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health,
WTO Doc WT/L/540 (2003) (Decision of the General Council of 30 August 2003) ('WTO General Council
Decision of 30 August 2003').
18
formalisation of this decision with the TRIPS Waiver in 2005.36 Despite such declarations and
decisions, there have remained significant conflicts in respect of access to essential medicines. There have been significant conflicts over patents related to infectious diseases, such as HIV/ AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Equally, there have been battles over patents relating to non-communicable diseases, such as cancer. There has also been a concern about
‘neglected diseases.’ There was a race to patent the SARS virus, and much debate over the
ownership of patents related to the SARS virus.37 There have been similar conflicts a decade
later over experimental research to address the Ebola virus.38 There have been emerging legal
issues in respect of the Zika virus surrounding access to essential medicines.39
There was a concern that the final Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement rolls back protection
in respect of access to essential medicines.
In the wake of the controversy over the action by pharmaceutical drug companies against the
Government of South Africa, a number of important declarations were made in the context of
the intellectual property framework established by the World Trade Organization.
36 Amendment of the TRIPS Agreement, WTO Doc WT/L/641 (2005) (Decision of 6 December 2005 of the General Council) ('TRIPS Waiver').
37 Matthew Rimmer, 'The Race To Patent The SARS Virus: The TRIPS Agreement And Access To
Essential Medicines' (2004) 5 (2) Melbourne Journal of International Law 335-374.
38 Matthew Rimmer, 'The Ebola Public Health Crisis: the World Health Organization, Intellectual
Property, Bioethics, and Access to Essential Medicines', Biosecurity in a Globalised World, QUT, 27-28 July
2015, http://ihr2015.com/program/
39 Lawrence Gostin and Alexandra Phelan, ‘Zika Virus: The Global and United States Domestic
Response’, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, United States House of Representatives, 2 March
2016, http://docs house.gov/meetings/IF/IF02/20160302/104594/HHRG-114-IF02-Wstate-GostinL-
20160302.pdf
19
Article 18.6 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deals with ‘Understandings Regarding Certain
Public Health Measures.’40 Article 18.6.1 provides that the ‘Parties affirm their commitment
to the Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health’.41 Article 18.6.1 (a) emphasizes: ‘The
obligations of this Chapter do not and should not prevent a Party from taking measures to
protect public health.’42 Moreover, ‘Accordingly, while reiterating their commitment to this
Chapter, the Parties affirm that this Chapter can and should be interpreted and implemented
in a manner supportive of each Party’s right to protect public health and, in particular, to
promote access to medicines for all.’43 Article 18.6.1 (a) stresses: ‘Each Party has the right to
determine what constitutes a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency,
it being understood that public health crises, including those relating to HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics, can represent a national emergency or other
circumstances of extreme urgency.’44 The agreement, though, does not provide for any
positive duty upon Pacific Rim nations to take effective action to implement the Doha
Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health.
40 Article 18.6 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
41 Article 18.6.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
42 Article 18.6.1 (a) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
43 Article 18.6.1 (a) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
44 Article 18.6.1 (a) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
20
Article 16.8.1 (b) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership also discusses the WTO General Council
Decision 2003: ‘In recognition of the commitment to access to medicines that are supplied in
accordance with the Decision of the General Council of August 30, 2003 on the
Implementation of Paragraph Six of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and
Public Health (WT/L/540) and the WTO General Council Chairman’s Statement
Accompanying the Decision (JOB(03)/177, WT/GC/M/82), as well as the Decision of the
WTO General Council of December 6, 2005 on the Amendment of the TRIPS Agreement,
(WT/L/641) and the WTO General Council Chairperson’s Statement Accompanying the
Decision (JOB(05)319 and Corr. 1,WT/GC/M/100) (collectively, the “TRIPS/health solution”), this Chapter does not and should not prevent the effective utilisation of the
TRIPS/health solution’. 45 The language in this statement is odd and peculiar. There is no
obligation here upon member states in the Trans-Pacific Partnership to take action in respect
of the WTO General Council Decision 2003 for the export of essential medicines.
It is notable that half-a-dozen members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have implemented their obligations with respect to access to essential medicines. Canada was a leader in the field – with early implementing legislation.46 However, there have been problems with the operation of the regime – with only the generic manufacturer Apotex employing the scheme.47 Singapore’s Patents Act 2005 (Singapore) enables the country to act as an
importing member in situations of national emergency or other circumstances of extreme
45 Article 18.6.1 (b) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
46 Matthew Rimmer, 'The Jean Chretien Pledge to Africa Act: Patent Law and Humanitarian Aid' (2005)
15 (7) Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents 889-909
47 Matthew Rimmer, 'Race Against Time: The Export of Essential Medicines to Rwanda' (2008) 1 (2)
Public Health Ethics 89-103.
21
urgency. In New Zealand, Articles 171 to 178 of the Patents Act 2013 (NZ) No. 68 provide a
legal basis to act as an exporting member. After protracted debate, Australia finally
implemented a regime, with the passage of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act
2015 (Cth) and the Intellectual Property Legislation (TRIPS Protocol and Other Measures)
Regulation 2015 (Cth). Japan has guidelines which provides for the grant of non-exclusive
licences for reason of public interest. Notably, the United States of America still has not
implemented the WTO General Council 2003, despite it being over a decade since its
inception.
Article 16.8.1 (c) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership provides: ‘With respect to the aforementioned matters, if any waiver of any provision of the TRIPS Agreement, or any amendment of the TRIPS Agreement, enters into force with respect to the Parties, and a
Party’s application of a measure in conformity with that waiver or amendment is contrary to the obligations of this Chapter, the Parties shall immediately consult in order to adapt this
Chapter as appropriate in the light of the waiver or amendment.’48 Article 16.8.2 stipulates:
‘Each Party shall notify, if it has not already done so, the WTO of its acceptance of
the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement, done at Geneva on December 6, 2005.’ 49
The United States Trade Representative maintained that the final agreement promoted the
development and availability of innovative and generic medicines:
48 Article 18.6.1 (b) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
49 Article 18.6.1 (b) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
22
The Intellectual Property chapter also includes commitments to promote not only the development of
innovative, life-saving drugs and treatments, but also robust generic medicine markets. Drawing on the
principles underlying the “May 10, 2007” Congressional-Executive Agreement, included in agreements
with Peru, Colombia, Panama, and Korea, the chapter includes transitions for certain pharmaceutical IP
provisions, taking into account a Party’s level of development and capacity as well as its existing laws
and international obligations.50
The United States Trade Representative also argued that the regime enabled public health
protections: ‘The chapter incorporates the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and
Public Health, and confirms that Parties are not prevented from taking measures to protect
public health, including to respond to epidemics such as HIV/AIDS.’51 Such claims, though,
have been treated with scepticism in the public debate. The United States Trade
Representative could be accused of ‘redwashing’ – trying to portray the agreement as good
for access to essential medicines, when it fails to achieve such objectives.
Many Democrats in the United States Congress have been concerned that the Obama
Administration’s position in the Trans-Pacific Partnership does not even live up to the standards of the May 2007 decision of the Bush Administration. Democrat Elder Sander
Levin observed:
The May 10th Agreement provided strengthened protections for intellectual property, but also
recognized the need for balance, particularly when it comes to access to affordable medicines. It also
recognized that while developing countries should strengthen their intellectual property (IP)
protections, they should not be expected to provide the same level of protection the United States and
50 The United States Trade Representative, ‘Overview. Intellectual Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership’, https://medium.com/the-trans-pacific-partnership/intellectual-property-3479efdc7adf#.lcowp4odl
51 Ibid.
23
other developed countries provide. We have been battling for years now to persuade our negotiators to
respect the May 10th Agreement - and we continue to have concerns that the TPP medicines provisions
will fall short.52
Peter Maybarduk from Public Citizen commented: ‘From very early on in the TPP
negotiations, and to the ire of health advocates, it became apparent that the Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative (USTR) was abandoning the May 10 Agreement template.’53 He noted:
‘With today’s publication of the final version of the TPP IP chapter by WikiLeaks, for the
first time the public can see precisely which rules negotiators agreed to and, importantly, how
far beyond the May 10 Agreement the provisions extend pharmaceutical intellectual property
obligations in developing countries.’54
The United States Trade Representative has promoted transition periods for developing
countries. Peter Maybarduk from Public Citizen commented: ‘Forcing expansive
pharmaceutical monopoly rules on countries that can scarcely afford high drug prices has not
always been U.S. trade policy, and in the past U.S. policymakers have recognized that the
needs of developing countries should not always be subordinate to U.S. pharmaceutical
industry profits.’55 He noted: ‘Some rare public servants from TPP countries fought back and
52 Sander Levin, ‘Is TPP the Most Progressive Trade Agreement in History? Not if We Need Access to
Affordable Medicines’, The Huffington Post, 28 May 2015, http://www huffingtonpost.com/rep-sander-/is-tpp-
the-most-progressive-trade-agreement-in-history- b 7461734.html
53 Public Citizen, ‘WikiLeaks Publication of Complete, Final TPP Intellectual Property Text Confirms
Pact Would Raise Costs, Put Medicines Out of Reach’, Press Release, 9 October 2015,
http://www.citizen.org/tpp-ip-wikileaks-oct2015
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
24 stood for health in this negotiation. Their efforts saved lives.’56 Maybarduk warned: ‘Yet in the end, the TPP will still trade away our health.’57 He also emphasized that the transition periods were limited, and would only last between three to ten years, and only apply to a few of the rules under discussion.
United Nations Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas stressed: ‘Trade is not an end in itself, but must be seen in the context of the international human rights regime, which imposes binding legal obligations on States, including the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.’58
He has also emphasized that trade agreements must satisfy ‘fundamental principles of international law, including transparency and accountability’.59 He has stressed that such agreements ‘must not delay, circumvent, undermine or make impossible the fulfilment of human rights treaty obligations.’60
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid.
58 Alfred de Zayas, ‘Statement by the Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and
Equitable International Order on the Upcoming Signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 2 February 2016, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17005&LangID=E
59 Ibid.
60 Ibid.
25
2. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Patent Law
The Intellectual Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a lengthy, expansive and a prescriptive chapter. The regime covers copyright law, trade mark law, patent law, trade secrets, data protection, and intellectual property enforcement.61 A number of elements
of the Intellectual Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will impact upon public
health. Notably, there has been much debate over the patent measures in respect of the Trans-
Pacific Partnership. There has been significant argument over eligible patentable subject
matter; patent standards and the problem of evergreening; patent term extensions; border
measures; and the treatment of anti-competitive conduct.
A. Patentable Subject Matter
Initially, in the negotiations over the Pacific Rim Treaty, the United States proposed a broad
approach to patent law — demanding that plants, animals and medical procedures be subject
to patent protection by Pacific Rim members. This could result, particularly for medical
procedures, in greater patent litigation against doctors, surgeons and medical professionals.62
61 Kimberlee Weatherall, ‘Section-by-Section Commentary on the TPP Final IP Chapter’, 2015, Section
1, http://works.bepress.com/kimweatherall/32/ Section 2 http://works.bepress.com/kimweatherall/32/, Section 3
http://works.bepress.com/kimweatherall/33/
62 Alexandra Phelan and Matthew Rimmer, 'Pacific Rim Treaty Threatens Public Health: Patent Law and
Medical Procedures', Edward Elgar Blog, 27 November 2013,
http://elgarblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/pacific-rim-treaty-threatens-public-health-patent-law-and-medical-
procedures-by-alexandra-phelan-and-matthew-rimmer/
26
However, the United States retreated from this aggressive stance in respect of patentable
subject matter – particularly in light of a series of decisions of the Supreme Court of United
States on patentable subject matter,63 and the opposition from a number of the Pacific Rim
countries to a broad approach on patentable subject matter.
Article 18.37 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deals with patentable subject matter:
1. Subject to paragraphs 3 and 4, each Party shall make patents available for any invention, whether a
product or process, in all fields of technology, provided that the invention is new, involves an inventive
step and is capable of industrial application.
2. Subject to paragraphs 3 and 4 and consistent with paragraph 1, each Party confirms that patents are
available for inventions claimed as at least one of the following: new uses of a known product, new
methods of using a known product, or new processes of using a known product. A Party may limit those
new processes to those that do not claim the use of the product as such.
3. A Party may exclude from patentability inventions, the prevention within their territory of the
commercial exploitation of which is necessary to protect ordre public or morality, including to protect
human, animal or plant life or health or to avoid serious prejudice to nature or the environment, provided
that such exclusion is not made merely because the exploitation is prohibited by its law. A Party may
also exclude from patentability:
(a) diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment of humans or animals;
(b) animals other than microorganisms, and essentially biological processes for the production of plants
or animals, other than non-biological and microbiological processes.
63 Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014); Association for Molecular Pathology v.
Myriad Genetics, Inc. 133 S. Ct 2107 (2013); Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593 (2010); Mayo Collaborative
Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. 132 S. Ct. 1289 (2012).
27
4. A Party may also exclude from patentability plants other than microorganisms. However, consistent
with paragraph 1 and subject to paragraph 3, each Party confirms that patents are available at least for
inventions that are derived from plants.64
There will remain a number of domestic and international conflicts in relation to the
boundaries of patentable subject matter in the Pacific Rim. Emerging technologies in relation
to information technology, business methods, methods of human treatment, biotechnology,
and synthetic biology remain particularly contentious.65
There remain significant concerns about software patents. In the Supreme Court of the United
States in 2016, Justice Breyer lamented that the United States Congress had not properly
developed special rules to address software patents.66 He lamented: ‘Today's patent world is
not a steam engine world’.67 Breyer J observed: ‘We have decided to patent tens of thousands
of software products and similar things where hardly anyone knows what the patent's really
about.’68 New Zealand has sought to ban software patents.
The topic of methods of human treatment is touchy. Australia allows for patents in respect of
64 Article 18.37 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
65 Matthew Rimmer and Alison McLennan (ed.), Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies: The
New Biology, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (Mass.): Edward Elgar, January 2012.
66 David McCabe and Mario Trujillo, ‘Supreme Court on Software Patents’, 21 February 2016,
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/overnights/270498-overnight-tech-debate-starts-over-commission-on-
encryption
67 Ibid.
68 Ibid.
28 methods of human treatment.69 In the 2013 case of Apotex Pty Ltd v. Sanofi-Aventis Australia
Pty Ltd, French CJ observed:
The exclusion from patentability of methods of medical treatment represents an anomaly for which no
clear and consistent foundation has been enunciated. Whatever views may have held in the past,
methods of medical treatment, particularly the use of pharmaceutical drugs, cannot today be conceived
as "essentially non-economic". Although Barwick CJ's reference in Joos to the national economic
interest in "the repair and rehabilitation of members of the work force" may be seen as reducing human
beings to economic units, there is no gainsaying the economic significance of medical treatments
independently of the flow-on benefits of a well-maintained work force. Recognition of the economic
dimensions of this question is not inconsistent with the concurrent recognition of the large public policy
questions which it raises. They may involve competing philosophies of proprietarianism and
instrumentalism and the relative values to be accorded to different public goods: alleged incentives to
innovation on the one hand, and the widest possible availability of new methods of medical treatment
to relieve suffering on the other. To decide that the concept of "manner of new manufacture" does not
logically exclude methods of medical treatment from patentability does not engage with those large
questions, although it may have significant consequences for public policy. This is a case in which such
considerations are best left to the legislature. In my opinion the application of the rubric "manner of
new manufacture" in a logically and normatively coherent way is not served by excluding from its
scope methods of medical treatment of human beings. Methods of medical treatment can fall within the
scope of a manner of new manufacture within the meaning of s 6 of the Statute and therefore within s
18(1)(a) of the 1990 Act. 70
The United States allows for patents in respect of methods for human treatment – but has a defence for medical practitioners. Canada and New Zealand have case law that rejects surgical procedures from patentability. Other negotiating parties Brunei Darussalam,
69 Apotex Pty Ltd v. Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 50 (4 December 2013)
70 Apotex Pty Ltd v. Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 50 (4 December 2013)
29
Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam all expressly exclude surgical
procedures from patentability. It is therefore no surprise that there was a lack of agreement on
that particular issue in the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Notably, superior courts across Pacific Rim have made significant rulings against gene
patents in the United States71 and Australia.72 There is also a challenge against gene patents in
Canada,73 which has been resolved through a settlement.74 There has been a striking
movement by superior courts to limit the boundaries of patentable subject in respect of
biotechnology. Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz has been concerned about the health
implications of a broad approach to patentable subject matter.75
71 Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. 133 S. Ct 2107 (2013).
72 D'Arcy v. Myriad Genetics Inc. [2015] HCA 35 (7 October 2015).
73 Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario v. University of Utah Research Foundation & Ors, No T.2249-
14 (Toronto Registry).
http://www.cheo.on.ca/uploads/genetics/Gene%20patent/Statement%20of%20Claim%20 Issued.pdf
74 Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, ‘Ground-breaking Settlement Changes Landscape for Genetic
Medicine in Canada’, Press Release, 9 March 2016, http://www.cheo.on.ca/en/newsroom?newsid=656 Kristy
Kirkup, ‘Ontario Hospital Settles Gene Patent Lawsuit in “Win” for Patients’, The Toronto Star, 9 March 2016,
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/03/09/ontario-hospital-settles-gene-patent-lawsuit-in-win-for-
patients.html
75 Joseph Stiglitz, Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared
Prosperity, New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016; and Joseph Stiglitz, ‘The New Geo-
Economics’, Project Syndicate, 8 January 2016, https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/hope-for-better-
global-governance-by-joseph-e--stiglitz-2016-01 and The Guardian, 10 January 2016,
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/10/in-2016-better-trade-agreements-trans-pacific-partnership
30
The Intellectual Property Rights Advisory Committee to the United States Trade
Representative was disappointed by the flexibilities available for nation states under the
Trans-Pacific Partnership to exclude subject matter from patent protection.76
B. Patent Standards and Evergreening
There have longstanding conflicts over intellectual property, trade, health, and access to
essential medicines.77
WikiLeaks has published a draft text of the Intellectual Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.78 The Intellectual Property Chapter contains a number of measures, which
support the position of pharmaceutical drug companies and the biotechnology industry.79
Notably, the United States has pushed for extensions of the patent term in respect of
pharmaceutical drugs, including where there have been regulatory delays. There has been a
concern that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will impose lower thresholds for patent standards,
and result in a proliferation of evergreening. There has also been a concern about patent-
76 The United States Trade Representative, ‘Intellectual Property Rights Industry-Advisory Committee
Report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 2015, https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-
pacific-partnership/advisory-group-reports-TPP and https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/ITAC-15-Intellectual-
Property.pdf
77 See Thomas Pogge, Matthew Rimmer and Kim Rubenstein, (ed.) Incentives for Global Public Health:
Patent Law and Access to Medicines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
78 WikiLeaks, ‘Advanced Intellectual Property Chapter for All 12 Nations with Negotiating Positions (30
August 2013 consolidated bracketed negotiating text)’ https://wikileaks.org/tpp/
79 Alexandra Phelan and Matthew Rimmer, 'Trans-Pacific Partnership #TPP #TPPA Drafts Reveal a
Surgical Strike against Public Health', East Asia Forum, 2 December
2013,http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/12/02/tpp-draft-reveals-surgical-strike-on-public-health/
31
registration linking to marketing regimes. The United States has also pushed for the
protection of undisclosed data for regulatory purposes. There has been wide concern that the
Trans-Pacific Partnership will result in skyrocketing costs for health-care systems in the
Pacific Rim.
The Intellectual Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership provides for strong protection of patent rights and data exclusivity for pharmaceutical drug companies and the biotechnology industry. WikiLeaks published drafts of the Intellectual Property Chapter in
2013, and in 2014. Michael Grunwald from Politico received a draft copy of the latest version of the intellectual property chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.80 He observed:
‘A recent draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal would give U.S.
pharmaceutical firms unprecedented protections against competition from cheaper generic
drugs, possibly transcending the patent protections in U.S. law.’81 Grunwald commented that
‘the draft chapter will provide ammunition for critics who have warned that TPP’s
protections for pharmaceutical companies could dump trillions of dollars of additional health
care costs on patients, businesses and governments around the Pacific Rim’.82 He also
emphasized that the leaked text revealed that ‘U.S. negotiators have fought aggressively and,
at least until Guam, successfully on behalf of Big Pharma.’83
The civil society group Knowledge Ecology International published a leaked draft of the
Intellectual Property Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in August 2015, before the
80 Michael Grunwald, ‘Leaked: What’s in Obama’s Trade Deal’, Politico, 1 July 2015, http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/06/tpp-deal-leaked-pharma-000126
81 Ibid.
82 Ibid.
83 Ibid.
32
final deal.84 The director, James Love, was concerned that the text revealed that the United
States ‘continues to be the most aggressive supporter of expanded intellectual property rights for drug companies.’85 He was concerned that ‘the proposals contained in the TPP will harm
consumers and in some cases block innovation.’86 James Love feared: ‘In countless ways, the
Obama Administration has sought to expand and extend drug monopolies and raise drug
prices.’87 He maintained: ‘The astonishing collection of proposals pandering to big drug
companies make more difficult the task of ensuring access to drugs for the treatment of
cancer and other diseases and conditions.’88
Love called for a different approach to intellectual property and trade: ‘Rather than focusing
on more intellectual property rights for drug companies, and a death-inducing spiral of higher
prices and access barriers, the trade agreement could seek new norms to expand the funding
of medical R&D as a public good, an area where the United States has an admirable track
record, such as the public funding of research at the NIH and other federal agencies.’89
MSF has been concerned about the lowering of standards for patentability: ‘The TPP requires countries to grant secondary patents on modifications of existing medicines for at least one of
84 Knowledge Ecology International, ‘Knowledge Ecology International Leaks #TPP Text on Intellectual
Property’, Press Release, 4 August 2015, http://keionline.org/node/2308
85 Ibid.
86 Ibid.
87 Ibid.
88 Ibid.
89 Ibid.
33 the following: new uses, methods of use or new processes of a known product’. 90 MSF warned: ‘This provision is designed to prevent countries from using public health safeguards in their national patent laws and judicial decisions that limit abusive patent evergreening’.91
MSF was concerned: ‘The effect will keep medicine prices high by delaying the availability of price-lowering generics.’92
The former High Court of Australia Justice Michael Kirby observed in a case that patent law
‘should avoid creating fail-safe opportunities for unwarranted extensions of monopoly protection that are not clearly sustained by law.’93
The Australian Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report also addressed the pernicious problem of evergreening – where patent owners seek to indirectly extend the life of patent protection, beyond its natural monopoly.94 The report noted:
In most developed countries, including the United States and Europe, there are concerns about
pharmaceutical manufacturers using patents and other management approaches to obtain advantages
that impose large costs on the general community. The cost arises because these actions impede the
entry of generic drugs to the market. Although some find the term to be a pejorative, relevant
90 MSF, ‘Open Letter to ASEAN Governments Don’t Trade Away Health’, Geneva, 4 February 2016, http://www.msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/MSF assets/IP/Docs/IP TPP ASEANOpenLetter web.pdf
91 Ibid.
92 Ibid.
93 Aktiebolaget Hassle v. Alphapharm Pty Ltd [2002] HCA 59 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2002/59.html
94 Tony Harris, Dianne Nicol, and Nicholas Gruen, Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report, Canberra,
2013, http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/2013-05-27 PPR Final Report.pdf
34
literature has dubbed such actions ‘evergreening’: steps taken to maintain the market place of a drug
whose patent is about to expire.95
The report noted: ‘It is probable that less than rigorous patent standards have in the past
helped evergreening through the grant of follow-on patents that are not sufficiently
inventive.’96 The report called for improvements in the oversight of patent quality standards:
‘The Panel sees a need for an external body, the Patent Oversight Committee, to audit the patent grant processes to help ensure these new standards are achieved, and to monitor whether they inhibit the patenting of follow-on pharmaceuticals which promote evergreening with no material therapeutic benefit.’97
C. Patent Term Extensions
The Trans-Pacific Partnership provides for patent term extensions. Article 18.46 deals with
patent term adjustment for patent office delays.98 Article 18.48 addresses patent term
adjustment for unreasonable curtailment.99
MSF observed: ‘The TPP requires countries to create two mechanisms to extend patent terms
beyond 20 years for pharmaceuticals’.100 The advocacy group said: ‘At present, patents on
95 Ibid.
96 Ibid.
97 Ibid.
98 Article 18.46 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
99 Article 18.48 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
35
drugs in most countries last for 20 years from the date of filing’.101 MSF stressed: ‘The extra
years added to the patent are extra years in which the patent holder can maintain a monopoly
position and continue to charge artificially high prices for the drug, free from competition.’102
The Australian Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report makes a number of important recommendations relating to patent term extensions.103 Under Australia law, the patent term
lasts for twenty years. Since 1998, pharmaceutical drug patents can obtain additional term
extensions for up to a further 5 years. The inquiry noted:
An important part of the terms of reference of this inquiry is to evaluate the extension of term (EOT)
that the Australian patent system allows. It applies to some pharmaceuticals for which patentees have
taken at least five years from the effective patent filing date to obtain regulatory approval for the
pharmaceutical’s use. The current scheme dates from 1998. It aims to attract investment in
pharmaceutical R&D in Australia, as well as providing an effective patent term for pharmaceuticals
more in line with that available to other technologies. The scheme currently provides an effective
patent term of up to 15 years.104
The report noted that patent term extensions were expensive for the Australian Government:
‘The estimate for 2012-13 is around $240 million in the medium term and, in today’s dollars,
100 MSF, ‘Open Letter to ASEAN Governments Don’t Trade Away Health’, Geneva, 4 February 2016,
http://www.msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/MSF assets/IP/Docs/IP TPP ASEANOpenLetter web.pdf
101 Ibid.
102 Michael Geist, ‘The Trouble with the TPP, Day 7: Patent Term Extensions’, the University of Ottawa,
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/01/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-7-patent-term-extensions/
103 Tony Harris, Dianne Nicol, and Nicholas Gruen, Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report, Canberra,
2013, http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/2013-05-27 PPR Final Report.pdf
104 Ibid.
36
around $480 million in the longer term’.105 The report stressed: ‘The total cost of the EOT to
Australia is actually about 20 per cent more than this, because the PBS is only one source of
revenue for the industry.’106 The report emphasized: ‘Using the patent scheme to preferentially support one industry is inconsistent with the TRIPS rationale that patent schemes be technologically neutral.’107
The inquiry recommended: ‘The Government should change the current EOT to reduce the
maximum effective patent life provided from 15 years.’108 There was a difference of opinion
between the members of the review: ‘Harris and Gruen support reducing the effective life to
10 years, whereas Nicol supports reducing the effective life to 12 years.’109 The report
advised: ‘The length of the extension should be calculated as being equal the number of days
between the patent date and the date of first inclusion on the Australian Register of
Therapeutic Goods minus 20 years less the maximum effect patent life.’110 The report noted:
‘The current 5 year cap on extensions should remain, providing a maximum of 25 years
patent term for extended patents.’111
The Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report emphasized that there could be significant savings to Australian tax-payers from the reform of Australian patent term extensions. The
recommendation by Harris and Gruen was predicted to provide for massive savings:
105 Ibid.
106 Ibid.
107 Ibid.
108 Ibid.
109 Ibid.
110 Ibid.
111 Ibid.
37
Mr Harris and Dr Gruen recommend reducing the effective patent life from 15 to 10 years. Over time
this would save the PBS approximately $200 million a year. in today’s dollars, based on current
pricing arrangements (that the entry of generics will lead to price falls of 35 per cent) which the
Government has agreed with Medicines Australia. The savings would grow in line with PBS costs
which are growing at 4.5% per annum, substantially faster than real GDP. If the Government secured
all of the pricing benefits allowed by the entry of generics, annual savings in today’s dollars could
amount to around $400 million which would similarly be expected to grow with PBS costs. This is
calculated on data that generics have led to a 70% price reduction in the United States. This is
consistent with recent findings by the Grattan Institute that the price of generics paid by the PBS is
several times the price secured by relevant Australasian Governments.112
It is calculated that Professor Nicol’s recommendation to shorten the effective patent life
would result in significant savings: ‘The estimated savings resulting from this reduction
would be approximately $130 million a year.’113 Moreover, it was noted: ‘If a 70% price
reduction from generic entry was achieved as discussed above, the savings would be approximately $260 million a year.’114
The Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report observed that ‘Larger developed countries that
are major net IP exporters have tended to seek longer and stronger patents, not always to the
global good.’115 The report warned: ‘The acquiescence of Australia and other countries to that
112 Ibid.
113 Ibid.
114 Ibid.
115 Ibid.
38
agenda means that some features of Australia’s patent law are of little or no benefit to
patentees but impose significant costs on users of patented technologies.’116
The Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report was highly critical of Australia’s passivity in
international negotiations over intellectual property and trade. The report found:
In their negotiation of international agreements, Australian Governments have lacked strategic intent,
been too passive in their IP negotiations, and given insufficient attention to domestic IP interests. For
example, preventing MFE appears to have deprived the Australian economy of billions of dollars of
export revenue from Australian based generic manufactures. Yet allowing this to occur would have
generated negligible costs for Australian patentees. The Government does not appear to have a
positive agenda regarding the IP chapters of the TPP Agreement.117
The report noted: ‘The Government has rightly agreed to only include IP provisions in
bilateral and regional trade agreements where economic analysis has demonstrated net
benefits, however this policy does not appear to be being followed.’118
The Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report recommended that ‘the Government should ensure that future trade negotiations are based on a sound and strategic economic understanding of the costs and benefits to Australia and the world and of the impacts of current and proposed IP provisions, both for Australia and other parties to the negotiations.’119 The Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report stressed that ‘the Government
should strongly resist changes – such as retrospective extensions of IP rights – which are
116 Ibid.
117 Ibid.
118 Ibid.
119 Ibid.
39
likely to reduce world economic and social welfare and it should lead other countries in
opposing such measures as a matter of principle.’120
Furthermore, the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report recommended: ‘Given the current
constraints placed on Australia by its international obligations, as an interim measure the
Government should actively seek the cooperation of the owners of Australian pharmaceutical
patents to voluntarily agree to enter into non-assertion covenants with manufacturers of
generic pharmaceuticals seeking to manufacture patented drugs for export’.121 In its view,
‘This would help them avoid the embarrassment of Australia’s trade and investment performance being penalised by its previous agreement to strengthen IP rights.’122
The Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report warned: ‘There are signs that these past failures
are being replicated in the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations because
small, net importers of intellectual property, including Australia, have not developed a reform
agenda for the patent system that reflects their own economic interests – and those of the
world.’123
There was much controversy over the costs associated with patent term extensions in
Australia.124
120 Ibid.
121 Ibid.
122 Ibid.
123 Ibid.
124 Peter Martin, ‘Drug Patents Costing Billions’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 April
2013,http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/drug-patents-costing-us-billions-20130402-2h52i.html
40
Professor Michael Geist from the University of Ottawa considered the impact of patent term extensions from a Canadian perspective.125 He commented that the Trans-Pacific Partnership required several significant changes to Canadian patent law:
Article 18.48 creates a requirement for a patent term adjustment for delays due to marketing approvals
(described as unreasonable curtailment). The Canadian government believes that CETA’s two year
patent restoration provision will meet the TPP requirement. The effect of the TPP is therefore to lock in
CETA’s patent restoration extension even if CETA is never ratified or implemented. According to one
study, the impact of these provisions in CETA could lead to increased drug costs of between $850
million and $1.6 billion annually.126
Moreover, Geist pointed out that ‘Article 18.46 requires a patent term adjustment due to patent office delays’.127 He noted the ‘The section provides that “an unreasonable delay at least shall include a delay in the issuance of a patent of more than five years from the date of filing of the application in the territory of the Party, or three years after a request for examination of the application has been made, whichever is later.”’128 Geist observed: ‘No similar extension is found under current Canadian law nor within CETA.’129 He observed that
‘the escalation in patent protections is set to occur just as drug prices hit all-time highs in
Canada and pharmaceutical investment in research and development sinks to decade-long lows’. He cited a recent report released by the Patent Medicines Panel Review Board
125 Michael Geist, ‘The Trouble with the TPP, Day 7: Patent Term Extensions’, the University of Ottawa, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/01/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-7-patent-term-extensions/
126 Ibid.
127 Ibid.
128 Ibid.
129 Ibid.
41
(PMPRB).130 Geist observed: ‘The concern over Canadian pharmaceutical policy is long overdue as the evidence leaves little doubt that catering to the demands of the largely foreign- based companies have yielded few benefits.’131 He was worried: ‘Canadians pay significantly more for pharmaceutical drugs than consumers in many other developed countries and the promised increased investment in research and development has not materialized.’132 Geist expressed concern: ‘Yet despite the costly state of affairs, the government is set to reward the industry with even stronger protections through the TPP that will result in an extension of the higher prices.’133
D. Patent-Registration Linkage
Article 18.51.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deals with patent-registration linkage, providing:
1. If a Party permits, as a condition of approving the marketing of a pharmaceutical product, persons,
other than the person originally submitting the safety and efficacy information, to rely on evidence or
information concerning the safety and efficacy of a product that was previously approved, such as
evidence of prior marketing approval by the Party or in another territory, that Party shall provide:
130 Patented Medicines Annual Review Board, Annual Report 2014, Ottawa: Patented Medicines Annual
Review Board, 2014, http://www.pmprb- cepmb.gc.ca/CMFiles/Publications/Annual%20Reports/2014/2014 Annual Report Final EN.pdf
131 Michael Geist, ‘The Trouble with the TPP, Day 7: Patent Term Extensions’, the University of Ottawa, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/01/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-7-patent-term-extensions/
132 Ibid.
133 Ibid.
42
(a) a system to provide notice to a patent holder or to allow for a patent holder to be notified prior to the
marketing of such a pharmaceutical product, that such other person is seeking to market that product
during the term of an applicable patent claiming the approved product or its approved method of use;
(b) adequate time and opportunity for such a patent holder to seek, prior to the marketing of an
allegedly infringing product, available remedies in subparagraph (c); and
(c) procedures, such as judicial or administrative proceedings, and expeditious remedies, such as
preliminary injunctions or equivalent effective provisional measures, for the timely resolution of
disputes concerning the validity or infringement of an applicable patent claiming an approved
pharmaceutical product or its approved method of use. 134
Article 18.51.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deals with patent-registration linkage, providing:
As an alternative to paragraph 1, a Party shall instead adopt or maintain a system other than judicial
proceedings that precludes, based upon patent-related information submitted to the marketing approval
authority by a patent holder or the applicant for marketing approval, or based on direct coordination
between the marketing approval authority and the patent office, the issuance of marketing approval to
any third person seeking to market a pharmaceutical product subject to a patent claiming that product,
unless by consent or acquiescence of the patent holder. 135
134 Article 18.51.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
135 Article 18.51.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
43
Professor Brook Baker warns that ‘“Patent linkage” prevents registration and marketing of
more affordable generic equivalents even when the claimed patent is subject to invalidation
or when the applicant asserts the patent would not be infringed’.136
E. Border Measures
The Trans-Pacific Partnership also contains border measures – like its predecessor the Anti-
Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.137 MSF has warned about the dangers of such provisions:
The TPP contains a variety of obligations that increase the risk of unwarranted interruptions and delays
in the flow of legitimate trade in generic medicines, and limits countries’ judicial systems’ capacity to
balance commercial interests and public health interests in intellectual property disputes. These
provisions strip away the ability of governments to define their own enforcement provisions as allowed
by international law. These new forms of IP enforcement are reminiscent of the stalled Anti-
Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a plurilateral treaty that sought to impose stringent IP
rules.138
Such concerns are not merely theoretical. There have previously been disputes over European
Union countries engaging in the interdiction of shipments of generic medicines from India to
136 Brook Baker, ‘Health GAP Submission to the US House of Representatives Ways and Means on the
Trans-Pacific Partnership and Access to Medicine’, US House of Representatives Ways and Means on the
Trans-Pacific Partnership and Access to Medicine’, 8 December 2015, http://infojustice.org/archives/35504
137 Matthew Rimmer, ‘Trick or Treaty? The Australian Debate over the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement (ACTA)’, in Pedro Roffe and Xavier Seuber (ed.), The ACTA and The Plurilateral Enforcement
Agenda: Genesis and Aftermath, Geneva: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014, 169-201.
138 MSF, ‘Open Letter to ASEAN Governments Don’t Trade Away Health’, Geneva, 4 February 2016,
http://www.msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/MSF assets/IP/Docs/IP TPP ASEANOpenLetter web.pdf
44
developing countries. Professor Michael Geist was concerned about judicial oversight in
respect of border measures.139
F. Competition
A recent controversy in the United States over drug pricing by Turing Pharmaceuticals AG has raised larger issues in respect of intellectual property, access to medicines, competition, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In August 2015, Turing Pharmaceuticals AG – a private biopharmaceutical company with
offices in New York, the United States, and Zug, Switzerland - acquired the exclusive
marketing rights to Daraprim in the United States from Impax Laboratories Inc.
Martin Shkreli, Turing’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, maintained: ‘The acquisition
of Daraprim and our toxoplasmosis research program are significant steps along Turing’s
path of bringing novel medications to patients with serious disorders, some of whom often go
undiagnosed and untreated.’ He emphasized: ‘We intend to invest in the development of new
drug candidates that we hope will yield an even better clinical profile, and also plan to launch
an educational effort to help raise awareness and improve diagnosis for patients with
toxoplasmosis.’
139 Michael Geist, ‘The Trouble with the TPP, Day 22: Expanding Border Measures without Court
Oversight’, the University of Ottawa, 2 February 2016, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2016/02/the-trouble-with-
the-tpp-day-22-expanding-border-measures-without-court-oversight/
45
In September 2015, there was much public controversy over the decision of Martin Shkreli to raise the price of a 62 year old drug, Daraprim, from $US13.50 to $US750 a pill.
The drug is particularly useful in respect of the treatment and prevention of malaria, and the treatment of infections, when treating individuals with HIV/AIDS. Daraprim is listed on the
World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. In the face of much criticism, Martin Shkreli has said that he will reduce the price of Daraprim. He observed:
‘We've agreed to lower the price on Daraprim to a point that is more affordable and is able to allow the company to make a profit, but a very small profit.’ He maintained: ‘We think these changes will be welcomed.’ However, he has been vague and ambiguous about the nature of the commitment.
Notably, the lobby group, PHMRA, disassociated itself from the claims of Turing
Pharmaceuticals. The group said: ‘PhRMA members have a long history of drug discovery and innovation that has led to increased longevity and improved lives for millions of patients.’ The group noted: ‘Turing Pharmaceutical is not a member of PhRMA and we do not embrace either their recent actions or the conduct of their CEO.’ The biotechnology peak body BIO also sought to distance itself from Turing Pharmaceuticals.
This controversy over Daraprim is unusual – given the age of drug concerned. Daraprim is not subject to patent protection. Nonetheless, there remains a monopoly in respect of the marketplace. Drug pricing is not an isolated problem. There have been many concerns about drug pricing – particularly in respect of essential medicines for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. This controversy is part of a larger debate about access to affordable medicines. The
46
dispute raises larger issues about health-care, consumer rights, competition policy, and trade.
The controversy has provided impetus for law reform in the United States.
US Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton commented: ‘Price gouging like this in this
specialty drug market is outrageous.’ In response to her comments, the Nasdaq
Biotechnology Index fell sharply. Hillary Clinton has announced a prescription drug reform
plan to protect consumers and promote innovation – while putting an end to profiteering. On
her campaign site, she has emphasized that ‘affordable health care is a basic human right.’
Her rival progressive candidate, Bernie Sanders, was also concerned about the price hike. He
wrote a letter to Martin Shkreli, complaining about the price increase for the drug Daraprim.
Bernie Sanders said: ‘The enormous, overnight price increase for Daraprim is just the latest
in a long list of skyrocketing price increases for certain critical medications.’ He has pushed
for reforms to intellectual property to make medicines affordable.
It is disappointing that the Trans-Pacific Partnership – in the leaks that we have seen – has
only limited recognition of the importance access to essential medicines. There is a need
ensure that there are proper safeguards to provide access to essential medicines – particularly
in respect of HIV/AIDs, malaria, and tuberculosis. Moreover, there must protection against
drug profiteering and price gouging in any trade agreement. There should be strong measures
against the abuse of intellectual property rights.
The dispute over Turing Pharmaceuticals AG and Daraprim is an important cautionary
warning in respect of some of the dangers present in the secret negotiations in respect of the
47
Trans-Pacific Partnership. There is a need to preserve consumer rights, competition policy, and public health in trade negotiations over an agreement covering the Pacific Rim.
48
3. Data Protection, Market Exclusivity for Biologics, and Trade Secrets
In addition to the suite of patent protection, the Trans-Pacific Partnership also provides for
special protection in respect of data protection, market exclusivity for biologics, and trade
secrets. The Biotechnology Industry Organization stressed that ‘Trade secrets are legal
protections given to information that is kept confidential’. 140 They emphasized: ‘Examples of
trade secrets that are important to biologics developers are details of manufacturing
conditions and processes, formulation techniques for their products, and the like’. 141 The
Trans-Pacific Partnership includes criminal penalties and procedures for the protection of
trade secrets. Amongst other things, the criminalisation of trade secrets could have important
ramifications in respect of medical research, patient care, and the administration of health-
care.
One of the most controversial issues during the negotiation over the Trans-Pacific
Partnership was the protection of biologics.
Ruth Lopert has discussed the nature of the sui generis protection for market exclusivity in
respect of biologics:
In the United States, biologics are protected from competition by follow-on products (known as
biosimilars, which are akin to generic medicines) for 12 years from the time they’re first granted
marketing approval by the nation’s drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This
form of protection from competition is distinct from a patent. It prevents a follow-on product from
140 BIO, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Innovation in the Bioeconomy: The Need for 12 Years of
Data Protection for Biologics’, https://www.bio.org/sites/default/files/TPP%20White%20Paper%20 2 .pdf
141 Ibid.
49
entering the market even when any patents on the originator product have expired. These 12 years are
known as the market exclusivity period.142
Academic work has highlighted the massive costs associated with providing extra protection for biologics.143
The pharmaceutical drug industry – led by the peak association PHRMA – pushed for 12 years of protection for biologics under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.144 The peak body observed: ‘Over the past two years, members from both Parties and both Houses of Congress, as well as Governors from 11 states, have expressed their support to the Administration for strong intellectual property protections for the biopharmaceutical industry to be included in the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).’145 PHRMA maintained: ‘America’s leading policy makers are committed, on a bipartisan basis, to extending these protections to our
142 Ruth Lopert, ‘Why biologics were such a big deal in the Trans Pacific Partnership, The Conversation, 5
October 2015 https://theconversation.com/why-biologics-were-such-a-big-deal-in-the-trans-pacific-partnership-
48595
143 Deborah Gleeson, Ruth Lopert and Hazel Moir, ‘Proposals for extending data protection for biologics in the TPPA: Potential consequences for Australia’. Submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
13 December 2014. http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tpp/submissions/Documents/tpp sub gleeson lopert moir.pdf; Deborah
Gleeson and Ruth Lopert, ‘How the battle over biologics helped stall the Trans Pacific Partnership’ The
Conversation, 6 August 2015. https://theconversation.com/how-the-battle-over-biologics-helped-stall-the-trans- pacific-partnership-45648; Burcu Kilic and Courtney Pine, ‘Decision Time On Biologics Exclusivity: Eight
Years Is No Compromise’, IP-Watch, 27 July 2015. http://www.ip-watch.org/2015/07/27/decision-time-on- biologics-exclusivity-eight-years-is-no-compromise/
144 PHRMA, ’12 Years of Data Protection: Note to Media on Elected Officials Support for 12 Years of
Data Protection in TPP’, http://phrma.org/note-media-elected-officials-support-12-years-data-protection-tpp
145 Ibid.
50
trading partners, through the TPP’s high quality, comprehensive agreement.’146 PHRMA was
concerned about divisions within the Obama administration over protection for biologics:
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA), which was passed as part of the
U.S. health care reform package, provides 12 years of regulatory data protection for biologics. Despite
strong bipartisan support in favor of 12 years of regulatory data protection for biologics, the U.S. Trade
Representative has yet to propose a specific period of data protection for biologics in the TPP text.147
PHRMA said that it applauded ‘the commitment of the Representatives, Senators, and
Governors who have consistently advocated for robust intellectual property protections for
biopharmaceuticals in the United States’ domestic laws and its international
agreements’.148 PHRMA maintained: ‘These protections allow our member companies to
continue to develop and supply cutting-edge medicines that improve the health and quality of life of people around the globe.’149
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) – the peak biotechnology industry
association – also lobbied hard in respect of the protection of biologics.150 The association
stressed: ‘We believe the recent experience of the United States, particularly the deliberations
leading to the enactment of the BPCIA, provide insight into the necessary intellectual
property infrastructure required to encourage discovery and development of new biological
146 Ibid.
147 Ibid.
148 Ibid.
149 Ibid.
150 BIO, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Innovation in the Bioeconomy: The Need for 12 Years of
Data Protection for Biologics’, https://www.bio.org/sites/default/files/TPP%20White%20Paper%20 2 .pdf
51 products’.151 In its view, that infrastructure must ‘provide a minimum of 12 years of data protection for new biological products.’152 BIO sought to dismiss criticism from the Federal
Trade Commission about the impact of special protection of biologics upon competition.
The United States Trade Representative pushed for longer protection of biologics in the
Trans-Pacific Partnership. Initially, the United States Trade Representative argued for 12 years of protection. Then, as a fallback position, the United States Trade Representative called for 8 years of protection. The United States Trade Representative provided this gloss on the negotiations:
On biologics, as you know, this is one of the most challenging issues in the negotiation. We’ve worked
cooperatively with all of our TPP parties—partners to secure a strong and balanced outcome that both
incentivizes the development of these new life-saving drugs, while ensuring access to these pioneering
medicines and their availability. And this is the first trade agreement in history to ensure a minimum
period of protection for biologics and, in doing so, will help set a regional model and will create an
environment in which, through comparable treatment, there will be an effective period of protection to
encourage both innovation and access. 153
However, other participating nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership were reluctant to acceded to the demands of the United States.
151 Ibid., 39.
152 Ibid., 39.
153 Amy Goodman, ‘Breast Cancer Patient Arrested for Protesting TPP: “This is Price Gouging at the Cost of Lives’, Democracy Now!, 6 October 2015, http://www.democracynow.org/2015/10/6/breast cancer patient arrested for protesting
52
Public health advocacy organisations and civil society groups expressed concern about longer
protection for biologics. MSF Australia spokesman Jon Edwards observed: ‘Australia’s
resistance to this element of the trade deal is critical in minimising the negative impact it
could have on health across the region.’154 He warned that ‘increased costs in poorer TPP
negotiating countries could mean millions of patients would not be able to access essential
medicines.’155 Jon Edwards commented: ‘Australia has a broader responsibility in these
negotiations than simply improving Australia’s trade figures’.156 He reflected: ‘Like it or not,
The Australian Government’s success or otherwise in rejecting the aggressive demands of the
brand name pharmaceutical lobby will affect the future health outcomes of millions of
vulnerable people across the region’.157 He called upon the Australian Government: ‘For the sake our patients and those like them we urge Australia to stand strong.’158
The Sydney Morning Herald’s John Garnaut provided an inside account of the final negotiations over biologics in respect of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, after interviewing the
Australian Trade Minister, Andrew Robb.159 He observed that ‘Robb was prepared to kill the
deal if the Americans had refused to back down on their demands to extend monopoly rights
154 MSF Australia, ‘Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s First Test on Trade: Australia Must Stand Strong
Against Aggressive Demands of Big Pharma’, Press Release, 25 September 2015,
http://www.msf.org.au/media-room/press-releases/press-release/article/prime-minster-malcolm-turnbulls-first-
test-on-trade-australia-must-stand-strong-against-aggressi html
155 Ibid.
156 Ibid.
157 Ibid.
158 Ibid.
159 John Garnaut, ‘The Arm Wrestle over Drugs: Inside the TPP Deal’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7
October 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-arm-wrestle-over-drugs-inside-the-tpp-deal-20151006-
gk2dnt html
53 over expensive, innovative drugs known as "biologics", which would have made the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme more expensive.’160 In response to questions from John
Garnaut, Andrew Robb observed:
If it wasn't resolved it probably would have killed the deal. You do need to seek some balance,
sometimes you need to take some pain, but there was no rationale for us making any changes because
our system is delivering all and more than the US is seeking to achieve. The PBS, the approval process,
it's part of a system, the whole health system, and not a stand-alone thing you can just play with.161
United States President Barack Obama personally lobbied Australian Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull over the protection of biologics.162 Nonetheless, to his credit, Turnbull resisted such demands by the United States Government.
The Australian Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report inquiry also considered the vexed question of data protection for pharmaceutical drugs.163 The report noted:
When an originator seeks regulatory approval for a drug, it must provide data to the TGA
demonstrating the drug’s safety and efficacy. Although these data remain confidential to the TGA, it
160 Ibid.
161 Ibid.
162 Francis Keany, ‘Pharmaceuticals Patent Protection Dispute Could Make or Break TPP: Andrew Robb’,
ABC News, 5 October 2015, http://www.abc net.au/news/2015-10-04/pharmaceuticals-dispute-could-disrupt- tpp-andrew-robb-says/6826278
163 Tony Harris, Dianne Nicol, and Nicholas Gruen, Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report, Canberra,
2013, http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/2013-05-27 PPR Final Report.pdf
54
may use them after a five year period to approve a generic or equivalent drug. This saves the pointless
replication of tests to show safety and efficacy.164
The pharmaceutical drugs industry argued that the five-year period of data exclusivity in
Australia was too short.
The Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report found that there was no need to extend data protection in respect of pharmaceutical drugs:
It is conceivable that drugs might not be brought to Australia, for example, because regulatory and
marketing costs cannot be recouped within five years. Medicines Australia submits that some of its
members chose not to supply a total of 13 drugs to the Australian market because of the inadequacy
of the data exclusivity period. However, they are only able to identify three of these, and the Panel’s
analysis - shown in chapter 8 - suggests they are not convincing. AbbVie offers a more compelling
example, but even there the Panel believes that expanding data exclusivity for all or for a wide class
of drugs is a poorly targeted response to issues affecting a small number of pharmaceuticals. A policy
of subsidising drug development discussed above seems more appropriate.165
The report noted: ‘The Government should actively contribute to the development of an internationally coordinated and harmonised system where data protection is provided in exchange for the publication of clinical trial data.’166
164 Ibid.
165 Ibid.
166 Ibid.
55
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia maintained that it had defended
Australia’s regulatory autonomy in respect of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.167 In its briefing
note, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade commented:
In the TPP, Australia has negotiated protections that are consistent with existing Australian law and
practice. Australia is not required to change any part of its current law, including data protection for
biologics, or our patent regime. There will be no adverse impact on the Pharmaceutical Benefits
Scheme and no price increases for medicines.168
However, there was academic and policy debate about whether the final text is so clear-cut.
There have been concerns about ambiguities in respect of the final text for the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.
Such a finding has a broader significance, given the push by the United States for stronger data protection in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Article 18.52 on the protection of biologics is complicated.169 Article 18.52.1 provides: ‘With regard to protecting new biologics, a Party
shall either: (a) with respect to the first marketing approval in a Party of a new pharmaceutical
product that is or contains a biologic, provide effective market protection through the
implementation of Article 18.50.1 (Protection of Undisclosed Test or Other Data) and Article
167 The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Outcomes –
Biologics’, 6 October 2015, https://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tpp/Documents/outcomes-biologics.PDF
168 Ibid.
169 Article 18.52 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
56
18.50.3, mutatis mutandis, for a period of at least eight years from the date of first marketing approval of that product in that Party; or, alternatively, (b) with respect to the first marketing approval in a Party of a new pharmaceutical product that is or contains a biologic, provide effective market protection: (i) through the implementation of Article 18.50.1 (Protection of
Undisclosed Test or Other Data) and Article 18.50.3, mutatis mutandis, for a period of at least five years from the date of first marketing approval of that product in that Party, (ii) through other measures, and (iii) recognising that market circumstances also contribute to effective market protection to deliver a comparable outcome in the market.’170 Article 18.52.2 provides:
‘For the purposes of this Section, each Party shall apply this Article to, at a minimum, a product that is, or, alternatively, contains, a protein produced using biotechnology processes, for use in human beings for the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease or condition.’171
Article 18.52.3 provides: ‘Recognising that international and domestic regulation of new pharmaceutical products that are or contain a biologic is in a formative stage and that market circumstances may evolve over time, the Parties shall consult after 10 years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, or as otherwise decided by the Commission, to review the period of exclusivity provided in paragraph 1 and the scope of application provided in paragraph 2, with a view to providing effective incentives for the development of new pharmaceutical products that are or contain a biologic, as well as with a view to facilitating the timely availability of follow-on biosimilars, and to ensuring that the scope of application remains consistent with international developments regarding approval of additional
170 Article 18.52.1 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
171 Article 18.52.2 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
57
categories of new pharmaceutical products that are or contain a biologic.’172 In other words,
there will be scope for a reconsideration of the protection of biologics at a future date.
Article 18.50.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership provides a statement about access to
essential medicines: ‘Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2 and Article 18.52 (Biologics), a
Party may take measures to protect public health in accordance with: (a) the Declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health; (b) any waiver of any provision of the TRIPS Agreement granted by
WTO Members in accordance with the WTO Agreement to implement the Declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health and that is in force between the Parties; or (c) any amendment of the
TRIPS Agreement to implement the Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health that enters into
force with respect to the Parties.’ 173 It is hard to know how these measures will operate in respect of access to essential medicines and the treatment of data protection, biologics, and trade secrets.
There is also a side-letter between Vietnam and the United States on biologics.174
United States Republican Congressional Powerbroker Orrin Hatch was upset at the final text
in respect of the protection of biologics in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He lamented: ‘I am
172 Article 18.52.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
173 Article 18.50.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
174 United States-Vietnam Letter Exchange on Biologics, https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/TPP-Final-
Text-US-VN-Letter-Exchange-on-Biologics.pdf
58
afraid this deal appears to fall woefully short.’175 He threatened to derail the agreement in the
United States Congress if his demands were not met. Likewise, the House of Representatives
Speaker, Paul Ryan, has argued that the Trans-Pacific Partnership should be renegotiated to provide for longer periods of protection for biologics.176
There have been significant internal divisions with the United States Trade Representative
Intellectual Property Rights Advisory Committee on the topic of the protection of biologics.177 The Committee noted: ‘Certain of the ITAC-15 Members had differing views on
Article 18.52 and the perspective that U.S. negotiators might take toward its implementation in TPP Parties.’178
Certain ITAC-15 Members were of the view that there needed to be stronger protection of
biologics. This faction insisted: ‘A major negotiating objective for the U.S. was to establish
in the TPP a uniform standard requiring TPP Parties to provide a period of regulatory data
protection for pharmaceutical products that are biologicals of at least 12 years from the date
175 John Garnaut, ‘The Arm Wrestle over Drugs: Inside the TPP Deal’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7
October 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-arm-wrestle-over-drugs-inside-the-tpp-deal-20151006-
gk2dnt html
176 Mike Masnick, ‘House Speaker Paul Ryan Demands TPP be Rengotiated, Neglects to Mention It Was
His Bill that Makes that Impossible’, Techdirt, 17 February 2016,
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160217/18442033628/house-speaker-paul-ryan-demands-tpp-be-
renegotiated-neglects-to-mention-it-was-his-bill-that-makes-that-impossible.shtml
177 The United States Trade Representative, ‘Intellectual Property Rights Industry-Advisory Committee
Report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 2015, https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-
pacific-partnership/advisory-group-reports-TPP and https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/ITAC-15-Intellectual-
Property.pdf
178 Ibid., 19.
59
of the approval of the product in each TPP Party.’179 This industry group maintained that ‘The
existing U.S. standard is supported by a broad, bipartisan majority of Members of Congress,
and is an articulated negotiating objective for the TPP.’180 The industry lobby group insisted:
‘The certainty of a 12-year regulatory data protection period for pharmaceutical products that
are biologics has been recognized as being essential to encourage the continued clinical
development of biological products’.181 The industry representatives lamented that ‘the standard established in the TPP falls short of this clear negotiating objective’.182 Such views
reflect, it would seem, the opinions of the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology sector.
However, other members of the industry advisory group took a different stance. Apparently,
‘These ITAC-15 Members would have preferred not to express an opinion or otherwise
advocate within this report that the U.S. negotiators press for a specific data protection
period, and simply commended the U.S. negotiators for reaching a balanced and equitable
agreement in the context of a highly contentious and sensitive, but critically important,
substantive area for which a widely divergent set of positions exist.’183 This group observed
that ‘the odds of achieving [12 years of biologics protection] were always slim.’184 This group
commented: ‘U.S. negotiators were candid with Members of the ITAC, as well as Members
of Congress, in expressing their doubt that they could impose 12 years of biologic exclusivity
on the eleven other TPP Parties, four of which have no exclusivity for 19 biologics in their
179 Ibid., 19.
180 Ibid., 19.
181 Ibid., 19.
182 Ibid., 19.
183 Ibid., 20.
184 Ibid., 20.
60
domestic law, five of which have 5 years and two of which have 8 years’.185 This group
observed: ‘Given the diversity of policies on biologic exclusivity among the TPP Parties, the
outcome reached by the negotiators is significant’.186 In this context, ‘These Members also
note that this is the first time biologic exclusivity has been included in any U.S. trade
agreement’.187 This industry group observed that there were significant costs involved with longer protection of biologics: ‘The excessiveness of 12 years of exclusivity (in addition to patent protection) for biologic products, which would have resulted in increased costs for and reduced access to medicines, was also recognized by the eleven other TPP Parties, resulting in a shorter period of protection.’188
Public Citizen warned that stronger protection of biologics would raise the costs of
medicine.189 Burcu Kilic warned that the ‘purposefully ambiguous language is meant to
provide USTR a means to harass countries in the future, and keep pushing for longer
monopolies and industry profits at the expense of people’s health.’190 Public Citizen warned:
‘These data obligations grant a distinct monopoly protection to medicines, even when patents
no longer apply or exist, giving companies a new way to keep prices high for longer and
further delaying competition.’191
185 Ibid., 20.
186 Ibid.
187 Ibid.
188 Ibid.
189 Public Citizen, ‘WikiLeaks Publication of Complete, Final TPP Intellectual Property Text Confirms
Pact Would Raise Costs, Put Medicines Out of Reach’, Press Release, 9 October 2015,
http://www.citizen.org/tpp-ip-wikileaks-oct2015
190 Ibid.
191 Ibid.
61
Professor Michael Geist from the University of Ottawa has highlighted the dangers of locking in biologics protection.192 He warned: ‘That binding policy, which comes at a still early stage of new technological development, may create long term health costs to the detriment of patients, innovation, and marketplace competition.’193
Mike Palmedo has pointed out that President Barack Obama’s 2017 Budget Proposal actually proposes to reduce the period of biologics exclusivity:
The Budget proposes … three previously proposed reforms designed to increase access to generic
drugs and biologics by stopping companies from entering into anti-competitive deals intended to block
consumer access to safe and effective generics, by awarding brand biologic manufacturers seven years
of exclusivity, rather than 12 years under current law, and by prohibiting additional periods of
exclusivity for brand biologics due to minor changes in product formulations. These proposals would
save the Federal Government $21 billion over 10 years.194
There seems to be inconsistency and dissonance between President Barack Obama’s budgetary proposal in respect of biologics exclusivity, and the aggressive stance of the United
States Trade Representative to lengthen the term of protection for biologics under the Trans-
Pacific Partnership.
192 Michael Geist, ‘The Trouble with the TPP, Day 8: Locking in Biologics Protection’, the University of
Ottawa, 13 January 2016, http://www michaelgeist.ca/2016/01/the-trouble-with-the-tpp-day-8-locking-in- biologics-protection/
193 Ibid.
194 Mike Palmedo, ‘TPP Implementation, and Obama’s 2017 Budget Proposal to Reduce the Period of
Biologics Exclusivity in the U.S.’, Infojustice.org, 9 February 2016,http://infojustice.org/archives/35735
62
4. Intellectual Property, Public Health, and Investor-State Dispute Settlement
In addition to the fears and worries about the Intellectual Property Chapter, there has been
much concern about the Investment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The investor-state dispute settlement regime would enable foreign investors to challenge
government policy-making, which affected their investments. In the context of health care,
there is a worry that pharmaceutical drug companies will deploy their investor rights to
challenge public health measures – such as, for instance, initiatives to curb drug pricing and
profiteering. Such concerns are not merely theoretical.
Eli Lilly has brought an investor action against the Canadian Government over the rejection
of its drug patents under the investor-state dispute settlement regime of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The brand name pharmaceutical drug company Eli Lilly have deployed an investor clause under the North American Free Trade Agreement to challenge Canada’s drug patent laws. There is a concern that the investor-state dispute settlement regime in the Trans-Pacific Partnership could be deployed to challenge public health measures, and reforms to the patent system designed to combat problems such as evergreening.
In a 2014 speech on investor-state dispute settlement, Chief Justice French of the High Court of Australia has highlighted his misgivings about the use of investor clauses by intellectual
63
property holders.195 He specifically discusses the dispute over plain packaging of tobacco products, as well as the matter between Eli Lilly and the Government of Canada. Chief
Justice French is concerned about the drug patent battle: ‘What did Eli Lilly want the arbitrator to do about the wayward Canadian judiciary? It wanted damages estimated in an amount of not less than $500 million together with recovery of any payment it or its enterprises was required to make arising from the improvident loss of its patents and its inability to enforce them.’196 Chief Justice French was concerned about the impact of investor-state dispute settlement upon domestic courts: ‘So far as I am aware the judiciary, as the third branch of government in Australia, has not had any significant collective input into the formulation of ISDS clauses in relation to their possible effects upon the authority and finality of decisions of Australian domestic courts.’197 He suggested: ‘One approach would
be to examine the possibility of including requirements in ISDS provisions in appropriate
cases for: prior exhaustion of remedies in domestic courts of the Contracting State;
preclusion of any challenge to the decision of a domestic court as constituting a breach of the
relevant BIT or FTA provisions; and preclusion of any arbitral decision based upon a
rejection of a decision on a question of law of a domestic appellate court binding on lower
courts.’198
A. Investor-State Dispute Settlement
195 Chief Justice French, ‘Investor-State Dispute Settlement – A Cut Above the Courts?’, Supreme and
Federal Courts Judges’ Conference, 9 July 2014, http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/speeches/current-
justices/frenchcj/frenchcj09jul14.pdf
196 Ibid., 8.
197 Ibid., 15.
198 Ibid., 15.
64
There has been much concern about the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement in the chapter on Investment in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The draft text of this Chapter was revealed by WikiLeaks. The final text provides for an extensive regime dealing with investor- state dispute settlement. There has been concern that big pharmaceutical companies have deployed investor clauses against nation states over the regulation of public health. Notably,
Eli Lilly has brought an investor action against the Government of Canada under the North
American Free Trade Agreement 1994 over the rejection of its drug patents.
The release of the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership raised concerns about the relationship between intellectual property and investor-state dispute settlement. Professor
Sean Flynn observed that the Investment Chapter ‘would expand the rights of private companies to challenge limitations and exceptions to copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights in unaccountable international arbitration forums’.199 He worried:
‘The text contains broader provisions than are being used by Eli Lilly to challenge Canada’s invalidation of patent extensions for new uses of two medicines originally developed in the
1970s.’200 Sean Flynn observed that there were strange anomalies in the text: ‘The TPP includes a new footnote, not previously released as part of any other investment chapter and not included in the U.S. model investment text — clarifying that private expropriation actions can be brought to challenge “the cancellation or nullification of such [intellectual property] rights,” as well as “exceptions to such rights”’.201 Flynn observed: ‘This expands the range of challenges that can be brought by companies against intellectual property limitations and
199 Sean Flynn, ‘Statement on the Release of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Text’, InfoJustice.org, 5
November 2015, http://infojustice.org/archives/35293
200 Ibid.
201 Ibid.
65
exceptions.’202 He warned: ‘Instead of combatting the ability to bring cases such as Eli
Lilly’s, the TPP’s investment chapter invites them’.203 Flynn commented: ‘Any time a
national court – including in the U.S. – invalidates a wrongfully granted patent or other intellectual property right, the affected company could appeal that revocation to foreign arbitrators’.204 He feared: ‘The new language would also make clear that private companies
are empowered by the treaty to challenge limitations and exceptions like the U.S. fair use
doctrine, or individual applications of it.’205 Flynn concluded: ‘Adoption of this set of rules in the largest regional trade agreement of its kind would upset the international intellectual property legal system and should be subject to the most rigorous and open debate in every country where it is being considered.’206
B. Eli Lilly v. Canada
In its memorial, Eli Lilly contends that ‘Canada’s invalidation of the Zyprexa and Strattera
patents constitutes an uncompensated expropriation, in violation of Article 1110 of
NAFTA.’207 Furthermore, the drug company maintains that ‘Canada’s measures violate its
obligations to afford “fair and equitable treatment” to Lilly’s investments under Article 1105
of NAFTA.’208 The company argued:
202 Ibid.
203 Ibid.
204 Ibid.
205 Ibid.
206 Ibid.
207 Eli Lilly v. Government of Canada, Claimant’s Memorial, 29 September 2014,
http://www.italaw.com/sites/default/files/case-documents/italaw4046.pdf
208 Ibid.
66
When Lilly made its investments in the Zyprexa and Strattera patents, it could not reasonably have
expected that Canada would promulgate such a unique and arbitrary doctrine – particularly one that
violates Canada’s international obligations. Lilly relied on Canada’s patent law when it sought patent
protection for Zyprexa and Strattera and launched those drugs in Canada. It also relied on the Zyprexa
and Strattera patents themselves, which were issued after a careful review by Canada’s patent
examiners in light of Canada’s utility requirement at the time. Those expectations have been
completely and radically contravened by Canada’s application of the promise utility doctrine.209
The company lamented: ‘When Lilly lost its patent protection for Zyprexa and Strattera,
Lilly’s competitors were able to enter the market and sell copies of Zyprexa and Strattera –
the very medicines that, according to the Canadian Federal Courts, were useless’.210 The
drugs company protested: ‘Lilly also lost the ability to enforce its patent rights against
infringers and faced other consequences.’211 Eli Lilly threatened: ‘Under governing principles
of international law, Lilly is entitled to full reparations for these damages, which are directly
attributable to Canada’s breaches of Chapter 11.’212
In its counter-memorial, the Government of Canada argued that this claim was ‘nothing more than an attempt by the Claimant to employ NAFTA Chapter Eleven as a vehicle to air its grievances concerning the evolution and policy orientations of Canadian patent law, which it sees as not sufficiently aligned with its own interests.’213 The Government of Canada
209 Ibid.
210 Ibid.
211 Ibid.
212 Ibid.
213 Eli Lilly v. Government of Canada, Claimant’s Counter-Memorial, 27 January 2015, http://www.italaw.com/sites/default/files/case-documents/italaw4131.pdf
67
observed: ‘The Tribunal in the exercise of its limited investment law jurisdiction cannot
impose a substantive patent law harmonization that relevant international actors have failed to
achieve.’214 The Government of Canada called upon the investor action to be dismissed. The
controversy has raised concerns about whether pharmaceutical drug companies will bring
similar investor actions against nation states in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The Government of Canada has been particularly disturbed by the action brought by Eli Lilly under an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism over the rejection of drug patents. In
June 2014, Canada published a statement of its defence in the Eli Lilly dispute.215 In its
preliminary statement, the Government of Canada observed:
Eli Lilly and Company (“Lilly” or “Claimant”) is a disappointed litigant. Having lost two patent cases
before the Canadian courts, it now seeks to have this Tribunal misapply NAFTA Chapter Eleven and
transform itself into a supranational court of appeal from reasoned, principled, and procedurally just
domestic court decisions. Claimant argues that the domestic court decisions invalidating its patents are
measures that violate NAFTA Chapter Eleven. Claimant does this on the basis of misstatements of the
content of Canadian law and of Canada’s international obligations. Its claim is wholly without merit
and should be dismissed, with full costs to Canada.216
In its Statement of Defence, Canada provides: ‘(1) an overview in Canadian patent law, to
provide context for Claimant’s misstatements regarding Canadian law on utility; (2) a
description of the specific role played by the Federal Court in applying the Patent Act,
214 Ibid.
215 Eli Lilly v. Government of Canada, Statement of Defence, Defence, 30 June 2014,
https://icsid.worldbank.org/ICSID/FrontServlet?requestType=CasesRH&actionVal=showDoc&docId=DC4672
En&caseId=C3544
216 Ibid.
68 establishing that the court is responsible for determining the validity and existence of the intellectual property right; (3) an outline of the facts relevant to the two court proceedings, demonstrating that Claimant received full due process and reasoned and principled decisions; and (4) brief comments on Canada’s international intellectual property obligations under
NAFTA Chapter Seventeen, TRIPS and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”), confirming that these have no bearing on this case’.217 Canada maintains that ‘nothing in the two court decisions at issue in any way violates Canada’s obligations under Chapter Eleven of
NAFTA.’218
There has been a public interest intervention by two public interest organisations, the
Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic and the Centre for
Intellectual Property Policy at McGill University.219 The legal clinics contended:
This arbitration raises important issues regarding the ability of NAFTA Parties to craft domestic patent
laws that meet their unique social, economic, and legal circumstances. The Claimant’s position places
at issue the question of whether and to what extent NAFTA permits the continued evolution of the
Parties’ domestic laws and jurisprudence. This is a question of great import to the public interest. At
stake is no less than the continued autonomy of each NAFTA Party to implement patent laws within its
unique legal and social systems, and to permit patent law to evolve so as to respond to new
technologies. This arbitration also raises questions about what NAFTA and other trade agreements
have to say about the substantive content of patent law. Addressing these issues is crucial to
maintaining a robust and dynamic marketplace for patented inventions. By implication, the Claimant
217 Ibid.
218 Ibid.
219 ‘IPPIC and the CIPP File Amicus Application in NAFTA Arbitration’, Press Release, 12 February
2016, https://cippic.ca/en/node/129424
69
raises questions about the substantive content of other intellectual property laws addressed by NAFTA
and by other international trade instruments.220
CIPPIC and CIPP offer four arguments that address these issues. First, the legal clines
maintain: ‘Throughout the history of Anglo-American patent law (including in Canada),
courts have played a supervisory role to ensure that the State does not abuse the public by
granting overly broad patents’.221 In their view, ‘This is why the Courts, and not the Patent
Office, have the last word on the patentability of inventions and underlying determinations of
fact.’ Second, the legal clinics contend that ‘NAFTA was never intended to prescribe
substantive patentability requirements that are frozen in time.’222 The legal clinics insist:
‘Rather, Chapter 17 of NAFTA establishes minimum requirements that each Party must address in its domestic patent laws that specifically eschew a common substantive standard of patentability; how to implement NAFTA standards are up to its Member States’.223 Third, the
legal clinics contend that ‘Trade law requires comparison of the overall effect of NAFTA
Parties’ patent laws, not their individual patent rules’.224 Thus, ‘The relevant question for the
Tribunal is, therefore, whether Canadian patent law overall has a different effect from that of
its trading partners.’225 Fourth, the legal clinics conclude that ‘A functional comparison of
Canadian, American, and Mexican patent law reveals that utility in Canadian law is
functionally equivalent to (a) the United States requirements of the utility branch of
220 Ibid.
221 Ibid.
222 Ibid.
223 Ibid.
224 Ibid.
225 Ibid.
70
enablement, and (b) the Mexican requirements that an invention be capable of industrial
application, have an inventive step, and be sufficiently described.’226
Professor Richard Gold and Michael Shortt have provided a comprehensive analysis of the
patent issues at stake in the controversy.227
In a commentary, Professor Michael Geist from the University of Ottawa considers the
controversy over the Eli Lilly dispute, Investor-State Dispute Settlement Rules, and the
Canada-EU Trade Agreement.228 He concluded that ‘it may be in everyone’s interest to go
back to the drawing board on CETA by eliminating ISDS altogether.’229
In June 2013, the United States-based brand name pharmaceutical drug company Eli Lilly
deployed an investor clause under the North American Free Trade Agreement to challenge
Canada’s drug patent laws.230 Eli Lilly and Company is alleging that the invalidation of its
Strattera and Zyprexa pharmaceutical patents under Canadian patent law is inconsistent with
Canada’s commitments under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Eli Lilly alleged:
226 Ibid.
227 E. Richard Gold and Michael Shortt, ‘The Promise of the Patent in Canada and Around the World’,
(2014) 30 Canadian Intellectual Property Review 35
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract id=2361146
228 Professor Michael Geist, ‘Crumbling CETA Investor-State Dispute Settlement Rules Threaten to Take
Down the Canada-EU Trade Agreement’, the University of Ottawa, 28 July 2014,
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2014/07/crumbling-ceta-investor-state-dispute-settlement-rules-threaten-take-
canada-eu-trade-agreement/
229 Ibid.
230 Eli Lilly and Company v. Government of Canada (2013) http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-
agreements-accords-commerciaux/topics-domaines/disp-diff/eli.aspx?lang=eng
71
Canada, through its own actions and through the actions of the Canadian courts, is responsible for
measures inconsistent with its commitments under NAFTA Chapter Eleven, including without
limitation: (1) the Judge-made law on utility (the ‘promise doctrine’) according to which the Canadian
Courts have invalidated the Strattera and Zyprexa Patents; (2) the failure of the Government of Canada
to rectify the Judge-made law on utility in a manner that is consistent with Canada’s treaty obligations;
and (3) Canada’s incorporation of the Judge-made law on utility into Canadian law. These measures
breach Canada’s investment obligations under Article 1110 (Expropriation and Compensation), as well
as Articles 1105 (Minimum Standard of Treatment) and 1102 (National Treatment).
The exclusive rights conferred by the Strattera and Zyprexa Patents constitute intangible
property acquired in the expectation or used for the purposes of economic benefit or other business
purposes. By reason of Canada’s breach of its investment obligations, Eli Lilly and Company, an
investor of a Party, has incurred damages in relation to its investments. Lilly must be compensated for
Canada’s failure to comply with its NAFTA Chapter Eleven obligations.231
This is a disturbing action – particularly because Canada has a well-developed patent system.
The Supreme Court of Canada – renowned for expertise in intellectual property law – has
carefully delineated the threshold standard of utility under patent law.
Mike Masnick at TechDirt has been incredulous at the demands of Eli Lilly for a half-a-
billion dollars in respect of the action against Canada:
The Canadian court reasonably felt that it shouldn't give Eli Lilly a patent on something that wasn't
determined to be useful. Normally, if a country doesn't give you a patent, you move on. However, Eli
Lilly used a questionable part of NAFTA, the so-called investor-state dispute resolution mechanism, to
231 ‘Notice of Intent to submit a Claim to Arbitration under NAFTA Chapter Eleven’ in Eli Lilly and
Company v. Government of Canada (2013) http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-
commerciaux/assets/pdfs/disp-diff/eli-02.pdf
72
argue that Canada was ‘expropriating its property,’ and thus demanded compensation -- starting at $100
million, which it then raised to $500 million.
A few weeks ago, Eli Lilly's CEO wrote an op-ed piece, claiming that by not granting his company a
monopoly, Canada was ‘suffocating life-saving innovation.’ That's wrong. And it's obnoxious. For
years we've covered how the pharmaceutical industry has actually used patents to hold back life-saving
innovations by locking them up, blocking advances, jacking up the price to absolutely insane rates, and
by using a variety of other questionable practices (including patenting historical folk medicines). But,
more importantly, every country gets to determine what is and what is not patentable. For Eli Lilly to
use trade policies to effectively try to negate Canada's patent validity standards is a blatant attack on
Canadian sovereignty. 232
Glyn Moody comments that the case has disturbing implications: ‘As this makes clear, what
started out as a series of measures for a few special cases in order to protect Western
companies in countries with weak legal systems and a high risk of tangible investments being
expropriated by the state, has been twisted to an entirely different use: enabling deep-
pocketed multinationals to circumvent any kind of legislation they don't like, even in
countries with fair and independent judiciaries.’233
Professor Richard Gold of McGill University is critical of the Eli Lilly action: ‘I believe they
are fighting this to satisfy their shareholders.’234 He commented:
232 Mike Masnick, ‘Eli Lilly Officially Sues Canada for “Lost Profits” because Canada Rejected Eli Lilly’s
Patents’, TechDirt, 13 September 2013, https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130913/11204224509/eli-lilly-
officially-sues-canada-because-canada-rejected-patent-that-unfairly-diminishes-eli-lillys-profits.shtml
233 Glyn Moody, ‘How Investor-State Dispute Resolution Threatens Access to Medicines, and Much Else’,
TechDirt, 9 May 2013, https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130505/02445622949/how-investor-state-dispute-
mechanisms-threaten-access-to-medicine-much-else.shtml
234 Marc-Andre Seguin, ‘The $500-million Doctrine’, National Magazine, September-October 2013, http://www.nationalmagazine.ca/Articles/Sept-Oct-2013/The-$500-million-doctrine.aspx
73
There is no such thing as an international concept of utility. Everything points to the ability of the states
to do what they want. Legally, they have no case, not under NAFTA and not under TRIPS [Agreement
on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights]. Neither cover this issue.235
According to Gold, Eli Lilly was trying to set a political precedent. ‘Canada represents two to
three per cent of the world market. The company has to appease its shareholders, and it has to
try to prevent other countries from following Canada’s lead and developing a doctrine that
goes against its interests.’236
In a systematic piece of analysis, ‘Sovereignty Under Siege’, Professor Cynthia Ho has
explored corporate challenges to domestic intellectual property decisions. Cynthia Ho
observed: ‘Eli Lilly’s case against Canada exposes important policy problems with permitting
investors to use investor-state arbitrations to challenge domestic intellectual property
decisions’.237 She commented: ‘Although a tribunal should deny Eli Lilly’s claims, investor-
state tribunals often make broad and unpredictable rulings’.238 She was worried about the
larger implications of investor actions for public health: ‘Moreover, even if a panel rules
properly, public health may still be compromised if other companies follow Eli Lilly’s lead in
challenging other domestic decisions concerning intellectual property rights.’239
235 Ibid.
236 Ibid.
237 Cynthia Ho, ‘Sovereignty Under Siege: Corporate Challenges to Domestic Intellectual Property
Decisions’ (2015) Berkeley Technology Law Journal 214-304 at 303 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract id=2480202
238 Ibid.
239 Ibid.
74
C. Access to Essential Medicines
There is a concern that the investor-state dispute settlement regime in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership could be deployed to challenge public health measures, and reforms to the patent
system designed to combat problems such as drug pricing, and evergreening.
In 2013, Professor Brook Baker from the Northeastern University School of Law provided an
analysis of the danger of investment clauses to access to medicines.240 He commented:
‘Although access to medicines activists have been wise to focus our attention intently on
convincing low- and middle-income countries to adopt and use all possible TRIPS-compliant
flexibilities and to oppose the TRIPS-plus IP chapters in free trade agreements, we have neglected to interrogate another chapter in free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties that perhaps pose an even greater threat to our collective access to medicines – investment chapters.’241 Baker highlighted the threat posed investor-state dispute settlement to
access to essential medicines:
Under investment chapters, foreign IP investors, like Novartis and Bayer, are recognized as ‘investors’
who have made ‘investments’ involving expenditures and expectations of profit [xv]. Suddenly
intellectual property rights, already hugely protected, are given another mantle of protection, namely
protections as investments. In addition, investors are given rights to bring claims for private arbitration
directly against governments whenever their expectations of IP-based profits are frustrated by
government decisions and policies. Decisions of these private arbitral tribunals consisting of three
240 Brook Baker, ‘Investors’ IP Rights Unbound: The Danger of Investment Clauses to Access to
Medicines’, Equilibri, GESPAM, 24 April 2013,
http://www.equilibri net/nuovo/articolo/investors%E2%80%99-ip-rights-unbound-danger-investment-clauses-
access-medicines
241 Ibid.
75
international trade lawyers are not subject to judicial review, but are reducible into court judgments that
can be levied against government property. 242
Professor Brook Baker recommends: ‘Preferably, investment chapters will be rejected in their
entirety, as they are becoming a corporate sword of Damocles that hangs over the head of
rich and poor governments alike’.243 He insists: ‘At the very least, IP should be totally
defined out of “investments” and no investor claims whatsoever should be available for
alleged frustration of IP-based expectations.’244 Professor Brook Baker makes the excellent
point that ‘IP right holders already have multiple forms of enforcement including private
lawsuits, border seizures, criminal prosecution, and state-state dispute resolution.’245 He
insists that ‘Expanded and unbound investment rights for Big Pharma under the cover of
under-scrutinized investment chapters is a grave threat – a threat with deadly consequences to
millions of patients who rely on governments’ rights to regulate IPRs and to use any and all
TRIPS-compliant flexibilities to ensure affordable access to medicines for all.’246
Professor Brook Baker insists: ‘At the very least, IP should be totally defined out of
‘investments’ and no investor claims whatsoever should be available for alleged frustration of
IP-based expectations.’247 Professor Brook Baker makes the excellent point that ‘IP right
242 Ibid.
243 Ibid.
244 Ibid.
245 Ibid.
246 Ibid.
247 Brook Baker, ‘Investors’ IP Rights Unbound: The Danger of Investment Clauses to Access to
Medicines’, Equilibri, GESPAM, 24 April 2013,
http://www.equilibri net/nuovo/articolo/investors%E2%80%99-ip-rights-unbound-danger-investment-clauses-
access-medicines
76
holders already have multiple forms of enforcement including private lawsuits, border
seizures, criminal prosecution, and state-state dispute resolution.’248
In March 2014, UNITAID published its full report upon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, highlighting implications for access to medicines and public health.249
The report singled out the proposed Investment Chapter for extensive criticism: ‘The
proposal of the USA on investment demonstrates a high degree of similarity to the investment
chapter in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been criticized for restrictions on the regulation of corporations and the grant of broad-ranging rights which, inter alia, permit investors to seek compensation for domestic rules that they claim undermine their investments.’250
UNITAID identifies the overly-broad definition of investment as a problem in its analysis of
the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
The investment chapter starts with Article 12.2 which defines the terms used in the chapter. Key terms
include ‘investment’, ‘investor’ and ‘covered investment’. ‘Investment’ is defined broadly, going well
beyond the ‘bricks and mortar’ definition of property and covering any asset owned or controlled
directly or indirectly by an investor, whose characteristics include a ‘commitment of capital or other
resources, the expectation of gain or profit, or the assumption of risk’. The definition also includes a
non-exhaustive list of the forms such investments may take, including intellectual property rights,
248 Ibid.
249 UNITAID, The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Implications for Access to Medicines and Public Health,
Geneva: World Health Organization, 2014, http://www.unitaid.eu/images/marketdynamics/publications/TPPA-
Report Final.pdf
250 Ibid., 10.
77
licences and permits, as well as debt securities and loans, futures, options and other derivatives. The
effect of such a broad definition of ‘investment’ would be that parties will be required to protect all
such forms of investment within their territories; failure to do so would lay them open to the risk of a
dispute by the affected investor. Intellectual property rights are specified as a form of investment under
Article 12.2(g), and this covers all forms of intellectual property rights. Article 12.2(g) also includes, in
brackets, the words ‘which are conferred pursuant to domestic laws of each Party’. It is unclear whether
the text in brackets would significantly affect the definition, since intellectual property rights are in fact
conferred under domestic laws. The definition of ‘investor’ is similarly expansive—merely
‘attempting’ to make an investment by a concrete action suffices to qualify one as an investor.251
This analysis highlights how the Trans-Pacific Partnership will protect a panoply of foreign
investments.
The report highlighted three main areas of concern about the impact of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership’s investment chapter upon public health.
First, UNITAID noted that ‘the provisions of the proposed investment chapter of the TPPA provide expansive rights and privileges to foreign investors, with the obligation on governments to provide protection of such rights’.252 UNITAID warned: ‘The limitation on
“performance requirements” can prevent governments from imposing conditions on the
conduct of foreign companies, even when those conditions are imposed in the interest of
protecting public health and promoting access to medicines.’253 UNITAID illustrated its
251 UNITAID, The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Implications for Access to Medicines and Public Health,
Geneva: World Health Organization, 2014, http://www.unitaid.eu/images/marketdynamics/publications/TPPA-
Report Final.pdf, 86.
252 Ibid., 10.
253 Ibid., 10.
78
point: ‘For example, it may be a contravention of the proposed TPPA provisions if a
government were to require that a foreign pharmaceutical company should ensure a domestic
supply (whether through import or production) of a minimum quantity of active
pharmaceutical ingredients.’254
Second, UNITAID worried that ‘the proposed investment chapter combines strong investors’
rights and a broad scope of protection with an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, which provides the “teeth” for enforcement of obligations.’255 UNITAID warned: ‘The
investor-state dispute settlement, however, would allow for the possibility that investors
could sue a government with respect to intellectual property and regulatory issues pertaining
to medicines.’256 UNITAID expands upon its analysis:
As already noted above, intellectual property rights are defined as investments within the investment
chapter of the TPPA, thus implying that a government measure that affects the intellectual property
holdings of investors may be considered an ‘expropriation’ or a withholding of ‘fair and equitable
treatment’. The disputes over tobacco packaging regulations focus on the investor’s claim that its
trademarks have been infringed. In the context of access to medicines, defining investment as including
intellectual property rights would raise concerns about the ability of governments to implement and use
the range of TRIPS flexibilities, many of which could be seen as limitations or restrictions of the
exclusive rights granted under a patent. Although Article 12.12(5) states that the use of compulsory
licensing does not constitute an expropriation where the compulsory licence is granted ‘in accordance
with the TRIPS Agreement’, this may still leave room for investor corporations to challenge the
compulsory licence using the ISDS on the grounds that it does not comply with TRIPS. [164] Article
12.12(5) also has text, in brackets, specifying that ‘the revocation, limitation, or creation of intellectual
254 Ibid., 10.
255 Ibid., 10.
256 Ibid., 10.
79
property rights’ would not be considered expropriation when consistent with the intellectual property
chapter of the TPPA. Even if this text were to be accepted, this exemption might be of only limited
effect since the proposed text of the intellectual property chapter of the TPPA leaves little room for
revocation or limitation of intellectual property rights.257
UNITAID noted that ‘only WTO members (i.e. governments) may challenge each other for
non-compliance with TRIPS or any other WTO agreements’.258 The organisation was worried
that ‘the ISDS would allow for the possibility that an investor could sue a government on the
grounds that the use of compulsory licensing (or another TRIPS flexibility) is in violation of
both the provisions of the investment chapter (because of adverse effects on investment) and
the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.’259 UNITAID warns: ‘Such a course of action would
effectively create a TRIPS-plus or WTO-plus forum in which corporations could challenge governments on the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement on the grounds of its effect on investors’ rights.’260
Third, UNITAID observed that ‘it is important to note that the jurisdiction of arbitration
tribunals is defined by the provisions of the relevant investment treaty’.261 UNITAID
commented: ‘Typically, these provisions do not impose obligations on the arbitrators to take
into account in their decision-making the constitutional obligations of governments or even
human rights considerations.’262
257 Ibid., 89.
258 Ibid., 89.
259 Ibid., 89.
260 Ibid., 89.
261 Ibid. 10.
262 Ibid. 10.
80
In conclusion, UNITAID warns that the investment chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
could have a chilling effect on government regulations:
A key lesson that can be learned from the rising numbers of investor-state disputes with exorbitant
compensation awards is that they may have a ‘chilling effect’ on government regulations. Regardless of
the robustness of the legal basis of investor challenges, the risk of legal suits on the interpretations of
strong investor rights, coupled with the ability of private international arbitration tribunals to award
large compensation amounts, may now cause governments to be cautious when making policy or law
that affects investor rights. This situation can expose governments to vast liabilities, since investor-state
tribunals can have enormous discretion in awarding compensation amounts, which is a serious concern
for developing countries with limited resources, particularly where this may mean the diversion of
budgetary resources from meeting public interest and public health needs in the country. 263
Belinda O’Donnell has expressed similar concerns in 2016, writing for the Harvard T.H.
Chan School of Public Health.264 She observed: ‘The fight to make antiretroviral therapy accessible was not an easy one, and as a result, international norms around intellectual property, trade, and global health should be consistently moving towards greater flexibility.’265 O’Donnell said: ‘That does not appear to be the case with the TPP.’266 She
suggested: ‘The anxieties aggravated by the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement capture a central debate in global health: What’s the right balance between incentivizing innovation in the production of life saving drugs, and the very urgent
263 Ibid.
264 Belinda O’Donnell, ‘HIV and the TPP’, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 24 February
2016, http://aids harvard.edu/hiv-and-the-tpp/
265 Ibid.
266 Ibid.
81
requirement that these drugs are made accessible to those that depend on them for their
wellbeing or survival?’ In her view, ‘When considering the TPP from a global health
perspective, it is essential to ask if the agreement has managed to strike that balance.’267
United States Representative Raul M. Grijalva – co-chair of the Congressional Progressive
Caucus, and Peter Maybarduk – have been concerned about the implications of the Trans-
Pacific Partnership for access to essential medicines.268 Grijalva and Maybarduk warn that:
‘Trade agreements have become a favorite tool for corporations and their lobbyists to get
what they want when Congress -or any country's deliberative body - rejects their
arguments.’269 The pair emphasized:
According to the Sunlight Foundation, pharmaceutical company lobbying reports mentioned TPP 251
times in a recent four-year period, far more than any other industry. That money has paid off: the U.S.
Trade Representative seems to be taking Big Pharma's line. Doctors Without Borders calls TPP the
‘worst trade deal ever’ for access to medicines. The Vatican, the American Medical Association and
AARP, among many other organizations, have raised serious concerns about the damage it would
certainly do to public health. 270
The pair commented: ‘The TPP is a bad deal for taxpayers, for doctors and for everyone who
believes in corporate transparency’.271 The United States Congressman and the expert on
267 Ibid.
268 Representative Raul Grijalva and Peter Maybarduk, ‘the Trans-Pacific Partnership is terrible for Public
Health’, The Huffington Post, 8 April 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/raul-m-grijalva/the-trans-pacific-
partner b 5111792.html
269 Ibid.
270 Ibid.
271 Ibid.
82
access to medicines warned: ‘If rammed through Congress via fast-track trade authority,
which doesn't allow Congress to offer any amendments, it will lead to lost jobs and lost
lives.’272
D. The Final Text
The final text of the Investment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership still contemplates intellectual property owners being able to invoke investor-state dispute settlement. The definition of ‘investment’ specifically includes intellectual property rights.
Professor Brook Baker remains concerned that the Investment Chapter grants additional and exceptional enforcement powers to intellectual property rights-holders.273 He comments:
The TPP’s Investment Chapter greatly expands the enforcement rights of foreign pharmaceutical
companies, creating substantial risks to countries’ ability to set IP-related policy and to render IP
decisions. The Investment Chapter unequivocally defines IP rights as “investments.” It prohibits the
following: (1) discrimination against foreign IP investors, (2) unfair and inequitable treatment, and (3)
indirect expropriation. More pointedly, it allows ISDS claims directly against governments before
unreviewable three-person arbitration panels, even when judicial remedies have not been exhausted or
when companies have lost on appeal. Foreign investors can bring ISDS claims that domestic investors
cannot. Moreover, companies might claim—correctly or not—a lack of fair and equitable treatment
that undermines their well-grounded expectations of profit with respect to many health-related
regulatory and judicial decisions, including the following: denials or revocations of pharmaceutical
272 Ibid.
273 Brook Baker, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Provisions in Intellectual Property, Transparency, and
Investment Chapters Threaten Access to Medicines in the US and Elsewhere’ (2016) 13 (3) Public Library of
Science Medicine 13(3): e1001970. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001970
83
patents; granting of compulsory licenses; denials or restrictions on marketing rights; refusals to list
excessively priced, IP protected products for reimbursement; decisions to establish price controls; and
required disclosure of clinical trial data. Foreign companies might claim indirect expropriation
following changes in regulatory environments, including changes designed to promote public health.274
Baker predicts: ‘TPP member states can expect an avalanche of IP-related claims from
disappointed pharmaceutical companies that think their legitimate expectations of future profits have been thwarted by foreign governments’ IP decisions or policies.’275
The final text of the Investment Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership does contain some
specific language upon access to essential medicines. Article 9.7 deals with expropriation and
compensation. Article 9.7.5 provides: ‘This Article shall not apply to the issuance of
compulsory licences granted in relation to intellectual property rights in accordance with the
TRIPS Agreement, or to the revocation, limitation or creation of intellectual property rights, to
the extent that the issuance, revocation, limitation or creation is consistent with Chapter 18
(Intellectual Property) and the TRIPS Agreement.’ 276
Article 9.9 of the Investment Chapter contains some exemptions. Article 9.9.3 provides: ‘(a)
Nothing in paragraph 2 shall be construed to prevent a Party from conditioning the receipt or
continued receipt of an advantage, in connection with an investment of an investor of a Party
or of a non-Party in its territory, on compliance with a requirement to locate production,
supply a service, train or employ workers, construct or expand particular facilities, or carry out
274 Ibid.
275 Ibid.
276 Article 9.7.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
84 research and development, in its territory. (b) Paragraphs 1(f), 1(h) and 1(i) shall not apply: (i) if a Party authorises use of an intellectual property right in accordance with Article 31 of the
TRIPS Agreement, or to measures requiring the disclosure of proprietary information that fall within the scope of, and are consistent with, Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement; or (ii) if the requirement is imposed or the commitment or undertaking is enforced by a court, administrative tribunal or competition authority to remedy a practice determined after judicial or administrative process to be anticompetitive under the Party’s competition laws.’277
Article 9.11 deals with non-conforming measures. Article 9.11.5 provides ‘(a) Article 9.4
(National Treatment) shall not apply to any measure that falls within an exception to, or derogation from, the obligations which are imposed by: (i) Article 18.A.9 (General Provisions
National Treatment); or (ii) Article 3 of the TRIPS Agreement, if the exception or derogation relates to matters not addressed by Chapter 18 (Intellectual Property). (b) Article 9.5 (Most-
Favoured-Nation Treatment) shall not apply to any measure that falls within Article 5 of the
TRIPS Agreement, or an exception to, or derogation from, the obligations which are imposed by: (i) Article 18.A.9 (General Provisions National Treatment); or (ii) Article 4 of the TRIPS
Agreement.’ 278
Such exceptions or limitations are expressed in quite convoluted language. There could be much future debate and disputation over the meaning and scope of such provisions.
277 Article 9.9.3 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
278 Article 9.11.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
85
In addition to some express language dealing with access to essential medicines, there is more general language in respect of exceptions to investor-state dispute settlement in respect of public health. Article 9.15 provides: ‘Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent a Party from adopting, maintaining or enforcing any measure otherwise consistent with this
Chapter that it considers appropriate to ensure that investment activity in its territory is undertaken in a manner sensitive to environmental, health or other regulatory objectives.’279
There will obviously a lot of debate over the scope of such exceptions. The history of international trade law has been that such provisions have been read down in a limited fashion.
279 Article 9.15 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text
86
5. The Health ‘Transparency’ Annex
In 2015, WikiLeaks revealed a draft ‘Transparency for Health’ Annex of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.280 Dr Deborah Gleeson of La Trobe University observed that the Annex is
‘clearly intended to cater to the interests of the pharmaceutical industry’.281 In her view, the deal did not nothing to promote high-quality healthcare or free trade. Professor Jane Kelsey of the University of Auckland commented that ‘this “transparency” Annex seeks to erode the processes and decisions of agencies that decide which medicines and medical devices to subsidise with public money and by how much.’282 She highlighted the significant
implications of the regime for New Zealand’s Pharmaceutical Management Agency
(Pharmac). Likewise, Peter Maybarduk of Public Citizen was concerned that the pact could
expose Medicare in the United States to attacks by pharmaceutical companies.283 He was also
concerned that the agreement would ‘limit Congress’ ability to enact policy reforms that
would reduce prescription drug costs for Americans.’284
280 WikiLeaks, ‘‘Transparency for Health’ Annex of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’, 10 June 2015, https://wikileaks.org/tpp/healthcare/
281 Deborah Gleeson, ‘The Trans Pacific Partnership’s Healthcare Transparency Annex: Commentary on
the Leaked TPP Transparency Chapter Annex on Transparency and Procedural Fairness for Pharmaceutical
Products and Medical Devices Dated December 17, 2014 and released by WikiLeaks in June 2015’, WikiLeaks,
10 June 2015, https://wikileaks.org/tpp/healthcare/Analysis-Dr-Deborah-Gleeson/page-1.html
282 Jane Kelsey, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Annex on Transparency and Procedural
Fairness for Pharmaceutical Products and Medical Devices’, WikiLeaks 10 June 1015, https://wikileaks.org/tpp/healthcare/Analysis-Professor-Jane-Kelsey/page-1.html
283 Peter Maybarduk, ‘Latest TPP Leak Raises Burning Questions About Implications for U.S. Health
Care System’, Public Citizen, 10 June 2015, https://wikileaks.org/tpp/healthcare/Statement-Public-Citizen/page-
1.html
284 Ibid.
87
Dr Deborah Gleeson has provided an analysis of the final ‘Healthcare Transparency Annex’
of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.285 She comments:
The intent of Annex 26-A of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) is to discipline national
pricing and reimbursement schemes for pharmaceutical products and medical devices. While the
language of the Annex is framed around principles of transparency and fairness, the objectives of the
pharmaceutical and medical device industries clearly go much further than this. The ultimate objective
of the industry is expanded market access at monopoly prices dictated by industry: the target is
mechanisms that impact on both market access and prices. The Annex was intended to achieve this
objective through greater disclosure of information, greater industry participation, and ultimately more
leverage for the industry in decision making regarding pricing, reimbursement and other decisions that
impact on market share, such as the range of therapeutic indications for which a product is
subsidised.286
In her view, the language of the Annex was watered down through successive revisions
during the negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Professor Brook Baker was disturbed by the final text of the Transparency Chapter on
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, arguing that it increased the industry’s role in medical
285 Deborah Gleeson, ‘Preliminary Analysis of the Final TPP Healthcare Transparency Annex: Annex 26-
A: Transparency and Procedural Fairness for Pharmaceutical Products and Medical Devices’, Latrobe
University, 12 December 2015, http://infojustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Gleeson-Preliminary-
Analysis-Transparency-Annex-12-Dec-2015-1.pdf
286 Ibid.
88
reimbursement listings.287 He commented: ‘In the Transparency Chapter Annex addressing
transparency and procedural fairness for pharmaceutical products and medical devices,
companies are given multiple opportunities to intercede in decisions to list products for
reimbursement’.288 Baker observed that ‘these interventions could result in more listings of
higher-priced medicines even in the absence of convincing evidence of added therapeutic
value’.289 He warned: ‘Under the Pharmaceutical Product and Medical Device Transparency
Annex, companies will have multiple chances to influence pharmaceutical/medical-device listing decisions, to scrutinize resulting decisions, and to challenge decisions previously rendered’.290 Baker feared: ‘These multiple inputs can result in more listings, higher prices,
and higher administrative costs for affected countries’.291 He commented: ‘The Transparency
Chapter also gives other countries direct opportunities to complain about individual listing
decisions, patterns and practices of decisions, and decision-making criteria and processes.’292
Summing up, Professor Brook Baker found: ‘IP maximization in the TPP will harm access to
more affordable medicines in both the US and its trading partners’.293 He stressed: ‘Policy
space on both sides of the Pacific will be reduced while opportunities for excessive pricing
287 Brook Baker, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Provisions in Intellectual Property, Transparency, and
Investment Chapters Threaten Access to Medicines in the US and Elsewhere’ (2016) 13 (3) Public Library of
Science Medicine 13(3): e1001970. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001970
288 Ibid.
289 Ibid.
290 Ibid.
291 Ibid.
292 Ibid.
293 Ibid.
89 will increase dramatically with predictable adverse consequence for the right to health.’294
Professor Brook Baker observed: ‘Armed with knowledge about the details of the TPP’s anti- access provisions, there is still time for health advocates to convince the US Congress and
TPP partners that the TPP’s monopoly-enhancing measures must be rejected.’295
Conclusion
The Trans-Pacific Partnership poses a significant threat to global public health. The
Intellectual Property Chapter strengthens the rights of pharmaceutical drug companies and biotechnology companies. As discussed, there are significant obligations in respect of patent law and related rights associated with data protection, biologics, and trade secrets. In addition to the Intellectual Property Chapter, the Investment Chapter provides foreign companies with special investor rights, which enable them to challenge government decisions and regulations.
The Health Annex provides procedural rights to private health companies in respect of government decision-making. The Competition Chapter does little to protect patients, consumers, and citizens in respect of the pricing of medical and pharmaceutical products. The
Trans-Pacific Partnership provides for inadequate protection in respect of access to essential medicines.
The World Health Organization has been conscious of the challenge posed by mega-regional agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership to global public health. Addressing the UN
Economic and Social Council, Dr Margaret Chan was concerned about the impact of private
294 Ibid.
295 Ibid.
90
stakeholders upon public health.296 She warned: ‘The influence of stakeholders, especially the private sector, in multiple sectors is growing very rapidly at a time when the institutional and regulatory capacity of many countries remains weak.’297 Chan observed: In the absence of
adequate legislation, human and regulatory capacity, the private sector takes on an enlarged
role, with little control by the government over the quality and costs of the services being
provided’.298 She worried: ‘The vital role of government in protecting the public interest is diminished.’299 Chan commented: ‘In one especially alarming trend, provisions for the
settlement of investor-state disputes are being used to handcuff governments and restrict their
policy space’.300 She concluded: ‘When private economic operators have more say over
domestic affairs than the policies of a sovereign government, we need to be concerned.’301
In May 2014, Dr Margaret Chan reiterated such concerns in an address to the Sixty-Seventy
World Health Assembly.302 She observed: ‘International trade has many consequences for
health, both positive and negative’.303 Chan was worried: ‘One particularly disturbing trend is
the use of foreign investment agreements to handcuff governments and restrict their policy
296 Margaret Chan, ‘The Changing Development Landscape: What Will It Mean for Specialized Agencies
in a Post-2015 Era with Focus on Sustainable Development’, UN Economic and Social Council, 25 February
2014, http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2014/economic-social-council/en/
297 Ibid.
298 Ibid.
299 Ibid.
300 Ibid.
301 Ibid.
302 Margaret Chan, ‘Health Has an Obligatory Place on Any Post-2015 Agenda’, Address to the Sixty-
Seventh World Health Assembly, Geneva, Switzerland, 19 May 2014, http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2014/wha-19052014/en/
303 Ibid.
91
space.’304 She noted: ‘Some Member States have expressed concern that trade agreements
currently under negotiation could significantly reduce access to affordable generic
medicines.’305 She observed: ‘If these agreements open trade yet close access to affordable
medicines, we have to ask: Is this really progress at all, especially with the costs of care
soaring everywhere?’306
In a speech to Georgetown University in Washington DC on the 30th September 2015, Dr
Margaret Chan expressed concern about the threat posed by corporate power to public
health.307 The speech took place just before the conclusion of the negotiations to the Trans-
Pacific Partnership in Atlanta. Chan observed: ‘The newer threats to health also lie beyond the traditional domain of sovereign nations accustomed to governing what happens in their territories’.308 Chan noted: ‘In a world of radically increased interdependence, all are
transboundary threats.’309 She noted: ‘Some multinational corporations can be another transboundary threat’.310 Chan warned that mechanisms for settling investor-state disputes are
being used to sue governments for public health policies. Chan stressed: ‘What is at stake
304 Ibid.
305 Ibid.
306 Ibid.
307 Margaret Chan, ‘Governance: Global Health’s 21st Century Challenge’, Global Futures Initiative,
Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA, 30 September 2015, http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2015/georgetown-university-lecture/en/
308 Ibid.
309 Ibid.
310 Ibid.
92 here is nothing less than the sovereign right of a nation to enact legislation that protects its citizens from harm.’311
In a speech the following month, in October 2015, Dr Margaret Chan highlighted her concerns about trade and public health at a joint technical symposium on public health, intellectual property, and TRIPS at 20.312 She focused upon the issue of access to essential medicines:
Medicines have been making the headlines for two other reasons: strikingly high prices, especially for
new drugs for various cancer indications and for hepatitis C, and speculation about how the Trans-
Pacific Partnership agreement might affect the market for generics and biosimilars and increase the
cost of medicines. When new bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements are negotiated, I
ask WHO Member States to scrutinize their provisions very closely for any potential impact on access
to affordable medical products. I ask Member States to scrutinize mechanisms for the settlement of
investor-state disputes that might interfere with a government’s sovereign right to adopt legislation that
protects citizens from harmful products, like tobacco.313
Chan said that access to essential medicines raised larger issues in respect of equality, fairness and development. She posed the question: ‘For public health, the biggest question is this: how to extend the benefits of these medicines to the developing world, where the vast majority of infected people live?’314 Chan stressed: ‘The overarching objective of the agenda
311 Ibid.
312 Margaret Chan, ‘Opening Remarks at a Joint WHO/ WIPO/ WTO Technical Symposium on Public
Health, Intellectual Property and TRIPS at 20’, Geneva, Switzerland, 28 October 2015, http://who.int/dg/speeches/2015/intellectual-property-trips/en/
313 Ibid.
314 Ibid.
93 for sustainable development is to put the world’s poor and vulnerable populations first, not last.’315 She called for the fair and equitable interpretation and implementation of trade agreements affecting intellectual property and public health.
315 Ibid.
94
MARCH 2016
PLAIN PACKAGING FOR THE PACIFIC RIM:
TOBACCO CONTROL AND THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP
DR MATTHEW RIMMER
PROFESSOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION LAW
FACULTY OF LAW
QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Queensland University of Technology
2 George Street GPO Box 2434
Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia
Work Telephone Number: (07) 31381599
E-Mail Address: [email protected]
1
Executive Summary
This submission draws upon research done in relation to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and
tobacco control – including:
Matthew Rimmer, 'Price and Trade: World No Tobacco Day 2015', (2015) 24 Tobacco
Control e123-124.
Matthew Rimmer, 'New Zealand, Plain Packaging, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership', InfoJustice, 28 March 2014, http://infojustice.org/archives/32570
Matthew Rimmer, 'Ireland, Plain Packaging, and the Olive Revolution', InfoJustice, 24 March 2014, http://infojustice.org/archives/32484
Matthew Rimmer, 'The High Court of Australia and the Marlboro Man: The Battle Over The Plain
Packaging of Tobacco Products', in Tania Voon, Andrew Mitchell, and Jonathan Liberman (Ed.)
Regulating Tobacco, Alcohol and Unhealthy Foods: The Legal Issues, London and New York:
Routledge, 2014, 337-360.
Matthew Rimmer, 'Plain Packaging for the Pacific Rim: the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Tobacco
Control', in Tania Voon (ed.), Trade Liberalisation and International Co-operation: A Legal Analysis
of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton
(Mass.): Edward Elgar, 2013, 75-105.
Matthew Rimmer, 'Cigarettes will Kill You: The High Court of Australia and the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products' (2013) 1 WIPO Magazine 20- 23 http://www.wipo.int/wipo magazine/en/2013/01/article 0005.html
2
Becky Freeman, Simon Chapman, and Matthew Rimmer, 'The Case for the Plain Packaging of
Tobacco Products' (2008) 103 (4) Addiction 580-590.
There have, of course, been some important resolutions in the final text of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, after extensive negotiations over the topic of tobacco control. The issue remains
problematic. Rather than provide for complete protection of tobacco control measures, the
Trans-Pacific Partnership instead offers limited and partial protection, particularly in respect
of investor-state dispute settlement. There is still scope for state-to-state dispute resolution in respect of tobacco control under the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The text reaches quite an
uneasy compromise in the end on intellectual property, trade, and tobacco control.
Recommendation 1
Countries across the Pacific Rim should support and implement the WHO
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Recommendation 2
Countries involved in the Pacific Rim should follow the lead of Australia, and
adopt graphic health warnings, and the plain packaging of tobacco products.
New Zealand and Canada, in particular, should press ahead, with such tobacco
control measures, given the evidence from Australia about the efficacy of the
regime.
3
Recommendation 3
The Australian Government has successfully defended plain packaging of products in the High Court of Australia, and in an investor-state dispute settlement matter with Philip Morris. The Australian Government is currently defending plain packaging of tobacco products in the World Trade Organization.
Australia has made a strong case about the legitimacy of tobacco control measures – such as plain packaging of tobacco products – under international law.
Recommendation 4
There is a need to protect tobacco control measures from possible intellectual property challenges under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, given Australia’s past experiences in domestic litigation and in the World Trade Organization.
4
Recommendation 5
There is a long history of tobacco companies deploying investor clauses to challenge tobacco control measures – such as graphic health warnings and plain packaging of tobacco products. The Trans-Pacific Partnership provides protection against investor actions in respect of tobacco control measures – but only if nation states elect to do so. A broader exclusion for tobacco control would have been a better approach. Overall, it would have been preferable to excise the regime on investor-state dispute settlement from the Trans-Pacific Partnership altogether.
Recommendation 6
There have been concerns about how Technical Barriers to Trade will operate in respect of tobacco control measures under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Recommendation 7
There remain larger concerns about the use of State-to-State dispute resolution in respect of tobacco control measures under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Recommendation 8
The World Health Organization remains concerned about how tobacco companies have sought to deploy intellectual property, investor clauses, and trade agreements against public health measures.
5
Biography
Dr Matthew Rimmer is a Professor in Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the Faculty of Law, at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He is a leader of the QUT
Intellectual Property and Innovation Law research program, and a member of the QUT
Digital Media Research Centre (QUT DMRC) the QUT Australian Centre for Health Law
Research (QUT ACHLR), and the QUT International Law and Global Governance Research
Program. Rimmer has published widely on copyright law and information technology, patent law and biotechnology, access to medicines, plain packaging of tobacco products, intellectual property and climate change, and Indigenous Intellectual Property. He is currently working on research on intellectual property, the creative industries, and 3D printing; intellectual property and public health; and intellectual property and trade, looking at the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and the Trade in Services
Agreement. His work is archived at SSRN Abstracts and Bepress Selected Works.
Dr Matthew Rimmer holds a BA (Hons) and a University Medal in literature (1995), and a
LLB (Hons) (1997) from the Australian National University. He received a PhD in law from the University of New South Wales for his dissertation on The Pirate Bazaar: The Social Life of Copyright Law (1998-2001). Dr Matthew Rimmer was a lecturer, senior lecturer, and an associate professor at the ANU College of Law, and a research fellow and an associate director of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) (2001 to
2015). He was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, working on Intellectual
Property and Climate Change from 2011 to 2015. He was a member of the ANU Climate
Change Institute.
6
Rimmer is the author of Digital Copyright and the Consumer Revolution: Hands off my iPod (Edward Elgar, 2007). With a focus on recent US copyright law, the book charts the consumer rebellion against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (US) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US). Rimmer explores the significance of key judicial rulings and considers legal controversies over new technologies, such as the iPod,
TiVo, Sony Playstation II, Google Book Search, and peer-to-peer networks. The book also highlights cultural developments, such as the emergence of digital sampling and mash-ups, the construction of the BBC Creative Archive, and the evolution of the Creative Commons.
Rimmer has also participated in a number of policy debates over Film Directors’ copyright, the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, the Copyright Amendment Act 2006
(Cth), the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has been an advocate for Fair IT Pricing in Australia.
Rimmer is the author of Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological
Inventions (Edward Elgar, 2008). This book documents and evaluates the dramatic expansion of intellectual property law to accommodate various forms of biotechnology from micro- organisms, plants, and animals to human genes and stem cells. It makes a unique theoretical contribution to the controversial public debate over the commercialisation of biological inventions. Rimmer also edited the thematic issue of Law in Context, entitled Patent Law and
Biological Inventions (Federation Press, 2006). Rimmer was also a chief investigator in an
Australian Research Council Discovery Project, “Gene Patents In Australia: Options For
Reform” (2003-2005), an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, “The Protection of
Botanical Inventions (2003), and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project,
“Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia” (2009-2011). Rimmer has participated in inquiries into plant breeders’ rights, gene patents, and access to genetic resources.
7
Rimmer is a co-editor of a collection on access to medicines entitled Incentives for Global
Public Health: Patent Law and Access to Essential Medicines (Cambridge University Press,
2010) with Professor Kim Rubenstein and Professor Thomas Pogge. The work considers the intersection between international law, public law, and intellectual property law, and highlights a number of new policy alternatives – such as medical innovation prizes, the
Health Impact Fund, patent pools, open source drug discovery, and the philanthropic work of the (Red) Campaign, the Gates Foundation, and the Clinton Foundation. Rimmer is also a co- editor of Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies: The New Biology (Edward Elgar,
2012).
Rimmer is a researcher and commentator on the topic of intellectual property, public health, and tobacco control. He has undertaken research on trade mark law and the plain packaging of tobacco products, and given evidence to an Australian parliamentary inquiry on the topic.
Rimmer is the author of a monograph, Intellectual Property and Climate Change: Inventing
Clean Technologies (Edward Elgar, September 2011). This book charts the patent landscapes and legal conflicts emerging in a range of fields of innovation – including renewable forms of energy, such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal energy; as well as biofuels, green chemistry, green vehicles, energy efficiency, and smart grids. As well as reviewing key international treaties, this book provides a detailed analysis of current trends in patent policy and administration in key nation states, and offers clear recommendations for law reform. It considers such options as technology transfer, compulsory licensing, public sector licensing, and patent pools; and analyses the development of Climate Innovation Centres, the Eco-
Patent Commons, and environmental prizes, such as the L-Prize, the H-Prize, and the X-
8
Prizes. Rimmer is currently working on a manuscript, looking at green branding, trade mark law, and environmental activism.
Rimmer has also a research interest in intellectual property and traditional knowledge. He has written about the misappropriation of Indigenous art, the right of resale, Indigenous performers’ rights, authenticity marks, biopiracy, and population genetics. Rimmer is the editor of the collection, Indigenous Intellectual Property: A Handbook of Contemporary
Research (Edward Elgar, 2015).
Rimmer has supervised four students who have completed Higher Degree Research on the topics, Secret Business and Business Secrets: The Hindmarsh Island Affair, Information Law, and the Public Sphere (2007); Intellectual Property and Applied Philosophy(2010); The
Pharmacy of the Developing World: Indian Patent Law and Access to Essential
Medicines (2012); and Marine Bioprospecting: International Law, Indonesia and Sustainable
Development (2014). He has also supervised sixty-seven Honours students, Summer
Research Scholars, and Interns, and two graduate research unit Masters students.
9
Plain packaging for the Pacific Rim – tobacco control and the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(2013)
Matthew Rimmer
Kids today don’t just start smoking for no reason. They’re aggressively targeted as customers by the
tobacco industry. They’re exposed to a constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live,
where they learn, and where they play.1 (United States President Barack Obama)
Introduction
Big Tobacco has been engaged in a dark, shadowy plot and conspiracy to hijack the Trans-
Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and undermine tobacco control measures – such as
graphic health warnings and the plain packaging of tobacco products. The tobacco industry
has long considered the use of trade agreements as a means of delaying, blocking and
frustrating the introduction of tobacco control measures.2 In the 1990s, internal documents
highlight that the tobacco industry considered whether the use of trade actions under the
World Trade Organization (WTO) may delay the introduction of measures, such as the plain
packaging of tobacco products. However, there was an admission in the internal memos that
such action would provide ‘little joy’ for the tobacco companies.3 A number of countries
1 President Barack Obama, ‘Remarks by the President’ (Speech delivered at the signing of the Family
Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, White House Rose Garden, 22 June 2009)
2 Becky Freeman, Simon Chapman and Matthew Rimmer, ‘The Case for the Plain Packaging of Tobacco
Products’ (2008) 103(4) Addiction 580.
3 British American Tobacco, DB Presentation to GM’s Conference (21 July 1994) Legacy Tobacco
Documents Library
10
allied to the tobacco industry have challenged Australia’s plain packaging of tobacco
products regime under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS)4 and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.5 British American
Tobacco has lobbied the United States Trade Representative on intellectual property and
trade.6 In the course of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)7 discussions,
British American Tobacco argued: ‘We would strongly advocate tobacco and tobacco
products being prioritized in the course of the negotiations when specific areas of concern are
being addressed.’8
The TPP is a blockbuster, plurilateral free trade agreement, spanning the Pacific
Rim.9 There has been concern that tobacco companies have been seeking to use this trade
agreement to undermine tobacco control measures – such as graphic health warnings and the
4 Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, opened for signature 15 April 1994,
1867 UNTS 3 (entered into force 1 January 1995) annex 1C (‘Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights’).
5 Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, opened for signature 15 April 1994,
1867 UNTS 3 (entered into force 1 January 1995) annex 1A (‘Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade’).
6 See, e.g., Office of the United States Trade Representative, Vol. 1 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement Public Comments (7 August 2008) 18.
7 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, signed 1 October 2011, [2011] ATNIF 22, not yet in force.
8 Office of the United States Trade Representative, above n 6, 18.
9 See Enhancing Trade and Investment, Supporting Jobs, Economic Growth and Development: Outlines
of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (November 2011) Office of the United States Trade Representative
Foreign Affairs and Trade
al., ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Issues for Congress’ (CRS Report for Congress No
R42694, Congressional Research Service, 15 April 2013)
11
plain packaging of tobacco products – and the implementation of the WHO Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control.10 Philip Morris made a submission to the United States
Trade Representative on the TPP, emphasising: ‘We strongly support U.S. participation in the
TPP negotiations, and welcome the future expansion of this initiative to include additional
countries in the Asia-Pacific region.’11 The company has even sponsored a trade reception,
involving many of the participants in the negotiations.12 The treaty negotiations have included members of the Pacific Rim – such as Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam,
Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Canada, Mexico and the United States. In April
2013, Japan was included in the TPP negotiations.13 Thailand has been approached by the
United States Government to join the negotiations. In this context, there has been concern
about the extent to which tobacco control measures of negotiating nations will be affected by
the TPP (see Table 5.1).
Table 1. World Health Organization Tobacco Control Profiles for Participants in the TPP
Country Ratification of Adult Health Health Plain WHO Framework Prevalence, Warnings Warnings Packaging Convention on Smoking Include Tobacco Control Current Picture or Graphic
10 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, opened for signature 21 May 2003, 2302 UNTS
166 (entered into force 27 February 2005).
11 Philip Morris International, Submission No USTR-2009-0041-0016 to Office of the United States
Trade Representative, Request for Comments Concerning the Proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade
Agreement, 22 January 2010, 2.
12 Hayden Donnell, ‘Ambassador to US “Should be Sacked”‘, The New Zealand Herald, 27 February 2012
13 Office of the United States Trade Representative, ‘Obama Administration Notifies Congress of Intent to
Include Japan in Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations’ (Press Release, 24 April 2013)
12
United States Not Ratified 27.0% Yes Yes No Canada 26 November 2004 19.5% Yes Yes No Mexico 28 May 2004 15.9% Yes Yes No Peru 30 November 2004 NA Yes Yes No Chile 13 June 2005 35% Yes Yes No Australia 27 October 2004 16.6% Yes Yes Yes (as of 2012) New Zealand 27 January 2004 19.9% Yes Yes - Under cigarettes review (2012) Malaysia 16 September 2005 26% Yes Yes - No cigarettes Singapore 14 May 2004 21% Yes Yes No Vietnam 17 December 2004 23.8% Yes No No Brunei Darruslam 3 June 2004 18 % Yes Yes - No cigarettes Japan 8 June 2004 27% Yes No No Thailand 8 November 2004 24% Yes Yes - No (possible member) cigarettes The Philippines 6 June 2005 28% Yes No No (possible member) Data compiled from World Health Organization country profiles: see World Health Organization, Tobacco Control Country Profiles
There has been debate as to whether the TPP has undermined democratic decision-
making processes by elected representatives – particularly in respect of public health.14 There
has been much concern about the lack of transparency, due process, and public participation
in the TPP.15 Lori Wallach of Public Citizen has described the proposed agreement as
‘NAFTA on Steroids’, saying: ‘Think of the TPP as a stealthy delivery mechanism for
policies that could not survive public scrutiny.’16 A number of those with inside access to the
14 Inside Story Americas, ‘Will the Pacific Trade Deal Protect Workers?’, Al-Jazeera, 5 December 2012
15 Carolina Rossini, ‘Congress Members Demand USTR Tell the American People What’s Going on with the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Digital Freedom’ on Deeplinks Blog (5 September 2012)
16 Lori Wallach, ‘NAFTA on Steroids’, The Nation (New York), 16 July 2012
13
TPP have an interest in tobacco and tobacco control – including Roger Quarles of the Burley
Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association Inc, Clyde N. Wayne Jr. of Tobacco Associates
Inc, and Monique Muggli of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.17 Although trade officials
and members of trade committees have had access to the texts, the texts have not been made
available to politicians, civil society, or the wider public. Wallach has argued that civil
activists should pursue a ‘Dracula’ strategy to bring the TPP out of the twilight and into the
sunshine of public debate.18
The Kentucky delegation in the United States Congress has lobbied the United States
Trade Representative on behalf of tobacco companies.19 In October 2011, a number of United
States Congressmen and women from Kentucky – led by Representative Geoff Davis and
Senator Mitch McConnell – wrote to Ambassador Kirk, expressing their ‘strong opposition to
requests to exclude products, specifically tobacco, from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement negotiations’.20 The submission emphasised: ‘Excluding specific products from
17 Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade, Office of the United States Trade
Representative
18 Lori Wallach, ‘Can a “Dracula” Strategy Bring Out the Trans-Pacific Partnership into the Sunlight’ on
Truthout (30 November 2012)
19 See, for instance: Tobacco’s Status in the Trade Transaction is Disputed (14 March 2012) Tobacco
Facts
Hornback and Wilson Stone, ‘Plan to Exclude Tobacco from Trade Pact Unfair to State of Kentucky: Farm
Families Deserve Level Playing Field’, Kentucky.com, 2 April 2012
20 Letter from Representatives Geoff Davis, Harold Rogers, Ed Whitfield, Ben Chandler, John Yarnruth
and Ben Guthrie and Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul to the United States Trade Representative (7
October 2011)
14
the TPPA could have a serious impact on future trade agreement negotiations and
significantly damage Kentucky’s economy.’21 The Kentucky delegation made a crude
slippery slope argument that the exclusion of tobacco would lead to the exclusion of other
products, such as alcohol and dairy products: ‘Excluding tobacco from the TPP would
establish a broad and possibly economically debilitating precedent potentially applicable to
any industry.’22 The Kentucky politicians maintained that there was a need to include tobacco
trade in the TPP in order to protect American jobs:
As over eighty percent of tobacco grown in Kentucky is exported to other countries, the exclusion of
tobacco products from the TPPA threatens our growers’ business and could have the communities
where they live and employ Kentuckians.23
Similarly, Congressman Sanford Bishop from Georgia – along with other representatives and
senators for Georgia – wrote a letter to Ambassador Kirk, urging him to ‘ensure that
Georgia’s tobacco farmers are not excluded from taking advantage of trade protections
offered under the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’.24
In May 2012, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, a Republican from North Carolina,
also published in support of trade in tobacco under the TPP.25 She maintained that the
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr, ‘Bishop Seeks Trade Protections for Georgia’s Tobacco Farmers’
(Press Release, 2 December 2011)
25 Tom Doheny, Ellmers Calls for Responsible Treatment of Tobacco Farmers in Trans-Pacific
Partnership (15 May 2012) Congresswoman Renee Ellmers
15
tobacco industry had been the victim of unfair prejudice: ‘Tobacco farmers deserve the same
recognition and consideration as any other legal agricultural commodity.’26 Congressman
Mike McIntyre, also from North Carolina, argued: ‘Including a safe harbor provision in the trade deal will treat tobacco unfairly, and the Administration needs to hear from the farming and business community that opposes this effort.’27
In the context of this heavy lobbying by Big Tobacco and its proxies, this chapter
provides an analysis of the debate over trade, tobacco, and the TPP. This discussion is
necessarily focused on the negotiations of the free trade agreement – the shadowy conflicts
before the finalisation of the text. This chapter contends that the trade negotiations threaten hard-won gains in public health – including international developments such as the WHO
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and domestic measures, such as graphic health warnings and the plain packaging of tobacco products. It maintains that there is a need for regional trade agreements to respect the primacy of the WHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control. There is a need both to provide for an open and transparent process regarding such trade negotiations, as well as a due and proper respect for public health in terms of substantive obligations. Part I focuses on the debate over the intellectual property chapter of the TPP, within the broader context of domestic litigation against Australia’s plain tobacco packaging regime and associated WTO disputes. Part II examines the investment chapter of the TPP, taking account of ongoing investment disputes concerning tobacco control and the declared approaches of Australia and New Zealand to investor–state dispute
26 Ibid.
27 Congressman Mike McIntyre, ‘USTR Heeds McIntyre’s Call, Holds off Introduction of Tobacco Text in TPP to gather input from tobacco community’ (Press Release, 15 May 2012)
16 settlement. Part III looks at the discussion as to whether there should be specific text on tobacco control in the TPP, and, if so, what should be its nature and content. This chapter concludes that the plain packaging of tobacco products – and other best practices in tobacco control – should be adopted by members of the Pacific Rim.
I. Intellectual Property
In a number of contexts, the tobacco companies and their confederates have argued that the plain packaging of tobacco products amounts to a violation of their intellectual property rights.28 Such arguments have been framed in terms of constitutional law, trade law, and investment law. The United States Chamber of Commerce’s statements about the plain packaging of tobacco products are typical in this regard:
We believe that the lack of distinguishing trade dress and labelling may ultimately result in an
increased risk of consumer deception and confusion; may paradoxically result in unintended harm to
public health; and would deny the property rights of companies and their workers who have invested in
building their brand’s reputation.29
This position represents an extremely aggressive form of intellectual property maximalism, which presumes that intellectual property rights can block government health regulation.
Such a stance fails to recognise that intellectual property law is intended to serve larger public objectives – including the protection of public health.
28 Freeman, Chapman and Rimmer, above n 2.
29 United States Chamber of Commerce, Submission to the Department of Health and Ageing, Public
Consultation on the Exposure Draft of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011, 26 May 2011
17
A The High Court of Australia
Professor Tania Voon has observed: ‘Plain packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco
products represents a crucial focal point for industry, government, and public health across
the world today.’30
In order to support the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the
Australian parliament passed the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 (Cth), with the support
of all the main political parties. In response, Japan Tobacco International31 and British
American Tobacco32 brought legal action in the High Court of Australia, complaining that the
Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 (Cth) amounted to an acquisition of property on less than
just terms under s 51(xxxi) of the Australian Constitution 1901. Philip Morris Ltd and
Imperial Tobacco intervened in the case, supporting their fellow tobacco companies. The
Australian Government defended the constitutionality of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act
2011 (Cth).33 The Australian Government was supported by the Cancer Council Australia
and the governments of the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, and
Queensland.
30 Tania Voon, ‘Introduction’ in Tania Voon et al. (eds), Public Health and Plain Packaging of
Cigarettes: Legal Issues (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) 1, 1.
31 Case S409/2011: JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia, High Court of Australia
32 Case S389/2411: British American Tobacco Australasia Limited and Ors v The Commonwealth of
Australia, High Court of Australia
33 Matthew Rimmer, ‘Big Tobacco’s Box Fetish: Plain Packaging at the High Court’, The Conversation
(20 April 2012) 6518>. 18 Having announced its ruling in August 2012, the High Court of Australia published the reasons for its decision on the tobacco companies’ challenge to Australia’s regime for the plain packaging of tobacco products in October 2012.34 By a majority of six to one, the High Court of Australia rejected the arguments of the tobacco companies that there had been an acquisition of property under the Australian Constitution 1901. After listening to extensive arguments, the court closely considered the public health objectives of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 (Cth) and related regulations. Hayne and Bell JJ observed: ‘Legislation that requires warning labels to be placed on products, even warning labels as extensive as those required by the Plain Packaging Act, effect no acquisition of property.’35 The judges ruled that ‘The Plain Packaging Act is not a law by which the Commonwealth acquires any interest in property, however slight or insubstantial it may be.’36 The judges concluded: ‘The Plain Packaging Act is not a law with respect to the acquisition of property.’37 Kiefel J emphasised: ‘Many kinds of products have been subjected to regulation in order to prevent or reduce the likelihood of harm.’38 Her Honour noted that labelling is required for medicines, poisonous substances as well as some food ‘to both protect and promote public health’.39 Discussing the history of tobacco regulation in Australia, she 34 JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia (2012) 291 ALR 669 (‘JT International’). This discussion draws upon my piece: Matthew Rimmer, ‘The High Court and the Marlboro Man: The Plain Packaging Decision’, The Conversation (18 October 2012) 35 JT International (2012) 291 ALR 669, 713. 36 Ibid., 714. 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid., 746. 39 Ibid. 19 summarised the cumulative impact of public health measures and suggested plain packaging was but the latest of a long line of tobacco control measures in Australia. Noting the links between smoking tobacco and fatal diseases, Crennan J observed that the regime implemented international health law: ‘The objects of the Packaging Act are to improve public health and to give effect to certain obligations that Australia has as a party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.’40 She insisted: ‘Legislative provisions requiring manufacturers or retailers to place on product packaging warnings to consumers of the dangers of incorrectly using or positively misusing a product are commonplace.’41 French CJ emphasised the public policy dimensions of intellectual property law, noting that trade mark legislation has ‘manifested from time to time a varying accommodation of commercial and the consuming public’s interests’.42 Gummow J commented that ‘trade mark legislation, in general, does not confer a “statutory monopoly” in any crude sense’.43 The judge emphasised that the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) did not confer ‘a liberty to use registered trade marks free from restraints found in other statutes’.44 In his dissent, Heydon J complained generally about the government encroaching upon the acquisition of property clause.45 The decision of the High Court of Australia will encourage other countries to join an ‘Olive Revolution’, introducing plain packaging of tobacco products.46 New Zealand, 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid., 729. 42 Ibid., 679, quoting Campomar Sociedad, Limitada v Nike International Ltd (2000) 202 CLR 45, 65. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid 45 Ibid. 20 Scotland, India, Uruguay, and Norway are particularly keen to follow Australia’s lead.47 Under the leadership of David Cameron’s Conservative Party, England and Wales have equivocated upon whether they will adopt the plain packaging of tobacco products.48 B The WTO 46 Matthew Rimmer, ‘The Olive Revolution: Australia’s Plain Packaging Leads the World’, The Conversation (15 August 2012) 47 On New Zealand, see New Zealand Ministry of Health, Proposal to Introduce Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products in New Zealand: Consultation Document (23 July 2012) Tariana Turana, ‘Government Moves Forward with Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products’ (19 February 2013) New Zealand Government tobacco-products>; International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, ‘New Zealand Confirms Plans for Introducing Cigarette Packaging Law’ (27 February 2013) 17(7) Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest Free” by 2034 (27 March 2013) BBC News 21954909>. 48 On England and Wales, see Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products (2012) The United Kingdom Department of Health products/consult view>; Patrick Wintour, ‘Government to Legislate for Plain Cigarette Packaging this Year’, The Guardian, 5 March 2013 cigarette-packaging>; Marita Hefler and Stan Shatenstein, ‘UK: Government Condemned for Bowing to Tobacco Industry Over Plain Packs’ on Tobacco Control (7 May 2013) packs/>; Tanya Gold, ‘Death is Tobacco Companies’ Business’, The Guardian, 5 May 2013 21 Australia’s Minister for Trade in 2012, Craig Emerson, stressed that the victory in the High Court of Australia will strengthen Australia’s defence of the plain packaging of tobacco products in international fora.49 He emphasised that the Australian Government would vigorously defend challenges against the regime brought by Ukraine, Honduras, the Dominican Republic through the World Trade Organization.50 Emerson maintained: ‘Australia will strongly defend its right to regulate to protect public health through the plain packaging of tobacco products.’51 Both TRIPS and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade have long recognised that WTO Members can take measures necessary to protect public health. Emerson has also stressed that Australia will defend plain packaging in other arenas: ‘Australia will strongly defend its plain packaging legislation in all forums.’52 Cuba 49 Craig Emerson, ‘High Court Ruling Bolsters Australia’s WTO Case for Plain Packaging’ (Media Release, 20 August 2012) 50 World Trade Organization, Australia – Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging (18 December 2012) Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging (20 November 2012) Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging (18 December 2012) 51 Craig Emerson, ‘High Court Ruling Bolsters Australia’s WTO Case for Plain Packaging’ (Media Release, 20 August 2012) 52 Ibid. 22 and Indonesia have announced in 2013 that it will join the challenges to Australia’s plain packaging regime in the World Trade Organization.53 C The TPP There has also been concern that Big Tobacco is trying to use the TPP as a Trojan horse to attack tobacco control measures.54 In a revealing submission to the United States Trade Representative, Philip Morris expressed concern about ‘government-sponsored initiatives that would effectively cancel or expropriate valuable trademark rights’.55 The company supported ‘the inclusion of a comprehensive “TRIPs-plus” intellectual property chapter that includes a high standard of protection for trademarks and patents’.56 In particular, Philip Morris objected to Australia’s regime of plain packaging of tobacco products: ‘The consequences of the introduction of plain packaging in Australia are far-reaching and should be examined in the broader context of U.S.–Australia trade relations and in the upcoming TPP 53 David Jolly, ‘Cuba Challenges Australian Tobacco Rules’. The New York Times, 6 May 2013 Files Dispute Against Australia on Tobacco Plain Packaging’ (News Item, 3 May 2013) http://www.wto.org/english/news e/news13 e/ds458rfc 03may13 e.htm; ‘Indonesia Becomes Fifth to File WTO Case Against Australia Tobacco Plain-Packaging’, Intellectual Property Watch, 22 September 2013, 54 Peter Martin, ‘Plain Packs: The New Lines of Attack. Big Tobacco tries the WTO and TPPA‘, The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney), 20 August 2012. 55 Philip Morris International, above n 11. 56 Ibid. 23 negotiations.’57 The company also made objections to Singapore’s Smoking (Control of Advertisements & Sale of Tobacco) Act.58 There has been concern about the intellectual property chapter of the TPP.59 There was a leak of the draft text of the intellectual property Chapter of the TPP in 2011.60 The United States has promoted an ambitious intellectual property chapter with standards above and beyond those in TRIPS, the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement,61 and even ACTA.62 The chapter will cover copyright law, trade mark law, patent law, customs and border measures, and intellectual property enforcement. There have been particular concerns about tight parallel importation restrictions, the evergreening of drug patents, and draconian penalties for piracy and counterfeiting. Sean Flynn and his colleagues provided a comprehensive analysis of the text, observing:63 57 Ibid. 58 Ibid. 59 Matthew Rimmer, ‘A Mercurial Treaty: The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the United States’, The Conversation (15 June 2012) 60 ‘The Complete Feb 10, 2011 Text of the US Proposal for the TPP IPR Chapter’ on Knowledge Ecology International (10 March 2011) 61 Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement, signed 18 May 2004, [2005] ATS 1 (entered into force 1 January 2005). 62 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, signed 1 October 2011, [2011] ATNIF 22 (not yet in force). 63 Sean Flynn et al., ‘Public Interest Analysis of the US TPP Proposal for an IP Chapter’ (Research Paper No 21, Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, American University Washington College of Law, 6 December 2011) 54–55 24 The U.S. proposals, if adopted, would create the highest intellectual property protection and enforcement standards in any free trade agreement to date. If adopted, the TPP would predictably lead to higher prices and decreased access to a broad range of consumer products in many TPP member countries, from medicines to textbooks to information on the internet, with little or no benefit to any TPP member in the form of increased innovation, creativity or local economic activity.64 The leaked version of the intellectual property chapter lacks appropriate safeguards with respect to public health – particularly with regard to tobacco control measures contemplated under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Inside US Trade has reported that Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore have proposed replacing some elements of the United States proposal on intellectual property enforcement with language drawn from ACTA.65 This is also disturbing. The European Parliament and its various committees overwhelmingly rejected ACTA.66 The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Anand Grover, applauded this decision: ‘ACTA’s defeat in Europe is a welcome blow to the flawed agreement that has failed to address numerous concerns related to access to medicines.’67 64 Ibid. 65 ‘Countries Offer ACTA Language To Replace U.S. IPR Proposal’ (18 May 2012) 30 Inside US Trade (online). 66 Stephanie MacDonald, ‘ACTA Dead and Buried’, Computerworld (5 July 2012) 67 ‘UN Expert on Health Hails European Parliament’s Rejection of Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement’ on United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (9 July 2012) 25 In June 2012, the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommended delaying and postponing ratification of ACTA.68 The Committee recommended: that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement not be ratified by Australia until the: • Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has received and considered the independent and transparent assessment of the economic and social benefits and costs of the Agreement referred to in Recommendation 2; • Australian Law Reform Commission has reported on its Inquiry into Copyright and the Digital Economy; and • the Australian Government has issued notices of clarification in relation to the terms of the Agreement as recommended in the other recommendations of this report.69 There were concerns about the impact of the treaty upon Australia’s health-care system – particularly in respect of tobacco control and access to essential medicines.70 It is notable that ACTA did not provide proper recognition for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Comparing ACTA and the TPP, Professor Peter Yu has written about the ‘alphabet soup of transborder intellectual property enforcement’.71 He contended that the United States has greater political and economic leverage in the TPP: ‘Without the European Union at the 68 Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, Parliament of Australia, Report 126: Treaty Tabled on 21 November 2011 (2012). 69 Ibid., x. 70 Matthew Rimmer, ‘Opening Pandora’s Box: Secret Treaty Threatens Human Rights’, The Conversation (4 April 2012) 71 Peter Yu, ‘The Alphabet Soup of Transborder Intellectual Property Enforcement’ (2012) 60 Drake Law Review Discourse 16. 26 negotiation table, the United States is able to rely more on its sheer economic and geopolitical strengths to push for provisions that are in the interest of its intellectual property industries.’72 Yu worries: ‘Because of the different value negotiating parties place on trade and trade- related items, some parties may be willing to concede more on intellectual property protection and enforcement in exchange for greater benefits in other trade or trade-related areas.’73 He fears that the ‘TPP, therefore, could include more stringent obligations in the intellectual property area’.74 There is a need for the TPP to instead support a development agenda – which allows for countries to take measures to address public health concerns, such as tobacco control. II Investment There has been controversy over Big Tobacco using investor–state dispute resolution mechanisms to challenge public health measures – such as graphic warnings and the plain packaging of tobacco products. A. Ongoing Investment Challenges After moving the shares of its Australian subsidiary to Hong Kong, Philip Morris has brought a contrived investor–state arbitration claim under the Australia–Hong Kong Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments.75 The economist, Peter Martin, notes: 72 Ibid., 26. 73 Ibid., 27. 74 Ibid., 27. 75 Agreement between the Government of Hong Kong and the Government of Australia for the Promotion and Protection of Investments, signed 15 September 1993, 1748 UNTS 385 (entered into force 15 October 1993); Philip Morris Asia Limited (Hong Kong) v The Commonwealth of Australia 27 The almost comic attempt to get mileage out of the treaty (moving from Australia to Hong Kong in order to complain that it was being discriminated against because it was from Hong Kong) masks a broader, more serious attempt to turn trade treaties into instruments that allow corporations to sue governments.76 There has been much academic criticism of the investment action by Philip Morris.77 Philip Morris has also used international investment rules to challenge Uruguay’s restrictions on cigarette marketing.78 In particular, the tobacco company has complained about graphic health warnings being used by the Uruguayan Government, lamenting that: ‘The 80 per cent health warning coverage requirement unfairly limits Abal’s right to use its cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag id=1494>; Attorney-General’s Department, Investor-State Arbitration – Tobacco Plain Packaging 76 Martin, above n 54. 77 Tania Voon and Andrew Mitchell, ‘Time to Quit? Assessing International Investment Claims Against Plain Tobacco Packaging in Australia’ (2011) 14(3) Journal of International Economic Law 1. 77 Mark Davison, ‘Big Tobacco vs. Australia: Philip Morris Scores an Own Goal’, The Conversation (20 January 2012) Kyla Tienhaara, ‘Government Wins First Battle in Plain Packaging War’, The Conversation (13 August 2012) ‘An Affront to the Rule of Law: International Tribunals to Decide on Plain Packaging’, The Conversation (29 August 2012) 78 FTR Holding SA et al v Uruguay (Request for Arbitration) (ICSID Arbitral Tribunal, Case No ARB/10/7, 19 February 2010). 28 legally protected trademarks, and not to promote legitimate health policies.’79 Benn McGrady provides a thoughtful analysis of the ramifications of the dispute.80 In the context of the TPP discussions, there has been concern that tobacco companies would use investment clauses to challenge public health measures – such as tobacco control. B Australian Policy In a trade policy, the Australian Labor Party Government has disavowed the inclusion of investor–state dispute resolution clauses in any future free trade agreements – including the TPP.81 The statement notes: Some countries have sought to insert investor-state dispute resolution clauses into trade agreements. Typically these clauses empower businesses from one country to take international legal action against the government of another country for alleged breaches of the agreement, such as for policies that allegedly discriminate against those businesses and in favour of the country’s domestic businesses.82 The policy document states: ‘The Government does not support provisions that would confer greater legal rights on foreign businesses than those available to domestic businesses.’83 The 79 Ibid. 80 Benn McGrady, ‘Implications of Ongoing Trade and Investment Disputes Concerning Tobacco: Philip Morris v Uruguay’ in Tania Voon et al. (eds), Public Health and Plain Packaging of Cigarettes: Legal Issues (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) 173. 81 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Gillard Government Trade Policy Statement: Trading Our Way to More Jobs and Prosperity (Commonwealth Government, 12 April 2011) 82 Ibid. 83 Ibid. 29 trade statement emphasises that: ‘The Government has not and will not accept provisions that limit its capacity to put health warnings or plain packaging requirements on tobacco products or its ability to continue the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.’84 Moreover, the policy document observes: ‘If Australian businesses are concerned about sovereign risk in Australian trading partner countries, they will need to make their own assessments about whether they want to commit to investing in those countries.’85 A number of industry groups and trade lawyers have been irked by the policy of the Australian Government to refuse to sign trade agreements with state–investor dispute resolution clauses. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has lobbied for the inclusion of investment clauses in free trade agreements – including the TPP. The law firm Clifford Chance has argued: ‘It is Australian companies investing offshore that will perhaps suffer most from the Australian government’s new approach.’86 Trade lawyer Leon Trakman has protested: ‘Australian investors abroad probably will suffer.’87 Arbitrator Michael Pryles has observed that: ‘We have the recent example of tobacco companies saying their trademarks have been expropriated, but it’s unusual.’88 The Conservative Coalition won the Australian election in September 2013. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, has written that she will reconsider including investment clauses in the TPP.89 The Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, had 84 Ibid. 85 Ibid. 86 Chris Merritt, ‘Change in Treaty Policy Detrimental to Aussie Companies: Clifford Chance’, The Australian (Australia), 7 September 2012. 87 Ibid. 88 Ibid. 89 Julie Bishop, ‘Free Trade Focus’, Online Opinion (28 March 2013) 30 emphasized that the Coalition is open to utilising investor-state dispute settlement clauses as part of Australia’s negotiating position. Such advocacy for investment clauses is weak and unconvincing. The abuse of investment clauses by tobacco companies is not unusual or exceptional. It is commonplace. The involvement of Philip Morris in the TPP highlights this problem. C The TPP A key chapter of the TPP relates to investment. Philip Morris has been a strong supporter of the inclusion of an investor–state dispute resolution mechanism in the TPP: Philip Morris International has made significant investments in many countries, including the identified U.S. TPP partners. For that reason, we believe strong investor protections must be a critical element of the TPP and any future U.S. Free Trade Agreements. PMI supports the inclusion in the TPP of an investor–state dispute settlement mechanism. The strong investment chapter of the yet-to-be ratified U.S.–South Korea Free Trade Agreement should be used as a model for negotiating a similar chapter in the TPP. PMI considers the availability of an investor–state dispute settlement mechanism, including the right for investors to submit disputes to independent international tribunals, a vital aspect of protecting its foreign investments.90 Under such a mechanism, Philip Morris would be able to challenge government regulations – much like they have done in disputes with Australia and Uruguay. Wilson, ‘Past is not the Future for Trade’, Online Opinion (8 April 2013) 90 Philip Morris International, above n 11, 2–3. 31 There has been much concern about the investment chapter of the TPP – especially since a draft of the text has been leaked in 2012.91 The regime provides that no party may expropriate or nationalise a covered investment except for a public purpose, and with prompt, adequate, and effective compensation. The chapter also establishes an investor–state dispute settlement system: one that enables corporations from one country to take legal action against the government of another country for alleged breaches of the agreement. Professor Thomas Faunce of the Australian National University has observed of this text: ‘Such proposals give foreign investors (such as tobacco multinationals) greater rights than domestic investors.’92 There are only vague safeguards in respect of public health – such as ‘the parties recognise that it is inappropriate to encourage investment by relaxing its health, safety or environmental measures’.93 There is no specific, explicit recognition in this draft regime for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. With the leak of the investment chapter, the Obama Administration stands accused of breaking its 2008 campaign promise: We will not negotiate bilateral trade agreements that stop the government from protecting the environment, food safety, or the health of its citizens; give greater rights to foreign investors than to U.S. investors; require the privatization of our vital public services; or prevent developing country governments from adopting humanitarian licensing policies to improve access to life-saving medications.94 91 Zach Carter, ‘Obama Trade Document Leaked, Revealing New Corporate Powers and Broken Campaign Promises’, The Huffington Post, 13 June 2012 92 Faunce, above n 77. 93 Citizens Trade Campaign, Investment 94 Faunce, above n 77. 32 D New Zealand Taking a principled stance, the Australian Government has thus far refused to submit to the investor–state dispute resolution clause. However, the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has argued that there should not be special treatment for Australia: ‘An exclusion solely for Australia, not for everybody else, is unlikely to be something that we would support.’95 His position is misguided. Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland has commented: ‘The global multi-billion-dollar commercial players that dominate the alcohol and tobacco industries can afford to fund lengthy and costly arbitration to stop precedent- setting policies, even where their legal case is weak.’96 She has written a report on international trade law and tobacco control.97 She has commented: The proposed TPPA poses the most serious imminent risk to New Zealand’s ability to design, introduce and implement the innovative tobacco control policies needed to achieve the 2025 goal, as it 95 Radio New Zealand News, NZ ‘Unlikely’ to Support Special TPP Deal for Australia (14 June 2012) 96 Jane Kelsey, ‘New-Generation Free Trade Agreements Threaten Progressive Tobacco and Alcohol Policies’ (2012) 107(10) Addiction 1719. 97 Jane Kelsey, ‘International Trade Law and Tobacco Control: Trade and Investment Law Issues Relating to Proposed Tobacco Control Policies to Achieve an Essentially Smoke Free Aotearoa New Zealand by 2025’ (Report, New Zealand Tobacco Control Research Tūranga, May 2012) 33 would legally guarantee the tobacco industry and supply chain stronger, enforceable legal rights and the opportunity to influence domestic policy.98 The New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has struggled with questions on investment and the TPP in the New Zealand Parliament.99 The New Zealand Greens co-leader, Metiria Turei, asked John Key: ‘Will New Zealand open itself up to litigation from firms based in the Trans- Pacific Partnership countries should we sign up to the investor–State dispute settlement procedures, which Australia has rejected?’100 In response, John Key mischaracterised the approach of the Australian Government to the question of investment: Well for a start-off, I do not think it is actually correct to say that Australia has rejected them. What is true to say is that there are different countries bringing different perspectives to the negotiation, but when a final Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is agreed, all parties are likely to sign up.101 Under further questioning, Prime Minister Key was unfamiliar with a number of investment disputes – such as the action against Germany’s environmental controls on coal-fired power stations;102 the action by the Renco Group against Peru in respect of regulations designed to stop lead poisoning;103 and the action by Chevron Oil under investor–state procedures against 98 Ibid., 62. 99 ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership – Investor-State Dispute Provisions’, New Zealand, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 4 December 2012, 6996 (John Key, Prime Minister) Partnership-Investor-State htm>. 100 Ibid. 101 Ibid. 102 Vattenfall v Germany (Award) (ICSID Arbitral Tribunal, Case No ARB/09/6, 11 March 2011). 103 The Renco Group, Inc, Claimant’s Notice of Intention to Commence Arbitration (29 December 2010) Investment Treaty Arbitration 34 Ecuador in respect of clean-costs for toxic waste.104 Prime Minister Key insists more generally upon the existence of ‘safeguards’ in the TPP: ‘I can tell you the way that New Zealand legislates and goes about these free-trade agreements, and it is very careful to give itself the safeguards that we would think make sense.’105 However, the leaked text from the draft investment chapter would suggest that such ‘safeguards’ are not particularly safe. The New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was particularly non-plussed by questions over tobacco control and the TPP. The New Zealand Greens co-leader, Metiria Turei, asked John Key: Does the Prime Minister have any concerns that Philip Morris could use the investor-State procedures in the Trans-Pacific Partnership to sue New Zealand, given its actions in Australia and the veiled threats made by its spokesperson in New Zealand, Chris Bishop; if not, why not?106 In response, John Key argued: The member will be aware that Australia as of 1 December went into its programme of plain packaging. It is not in any way concerned about doing that and continuing to be part of the officials group and continuing to negotiate as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. That tells you that it must believe that the two policies are compatible.107 104 See ChevronToxico, About the Campaign 105 Key, above n Error! Bookmark not defined., 6996. 106 ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership – Investor-State Dispute Provisions’, New Zealand, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 4 December 2012, 6996 (Metiria Turei, Co-Leader, Greens) Partnership-Investor-State htm>. 107 Key, above n Error! Bookmark not defined., 6998. 35 Again, the New Zealand Prime Minister is incorrect on this point. The Australian Government has indeed expressed concerns about interference by Big Tobacco in the TPP negotiations. Similarly, United States Members of Congress – like Henry Waxman – have also been concerned by the approach of the United States Trade Representative to the question of tobacco control and the TPP. In 2013, the New Zealand Government announced that it would adopt the plain packaging of tobacco products in 2013 – while still pursuing the TPP. III. Tobacco Control The United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Ron Kirk, has been equivocal on the question of tobacco control and the TPP.108 In February 2012, the Ambassador appeared before the United States Congress, and said: ‘We have not tabled any proposal to exclude any product.’109 Kirk has said: ‘There are people who are fanatically opinionated on both sides.’110 He observed: ‘Our job is to follow U.S. law. Strike that balance. But on this one we’ll sometime have to make a decision.’111 There has been a concern that the United States Trade Representative has been willing to appease or placate the representatives of the tobacco industry. There has also been discussion of the United States Trade Representative having 108 Geoff Davis, Congressman Davis Questions USTR Ron Kirk on Possible Tobacco Exclusions (29 February 2012) YouTube 109 Ibid. 110 Franco Ordonez, ‘Tobacco Growers Fear Trade Deal will Harm Exports’, McClatchy, 28 February 2012 111 Ibid. 36 ties with the tobacco industry – having been a partner of Vinson & Elkins LLP which defended the tobacco industry, and a consultant to the tobacco company, Philip Morris.112 A The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 In the TPP negotiations, the United States Trade Representative’s objective is to create a ‘safe harbour’ for the United States Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. There is a need to understand the nature of the Obama Administration’s tobacco control measures. On 22 June 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. The President reflected upon the significance of the legislative reform: ‘Since at least the middle of the last century, we’ve known about the harmful and often deadly effects of tobacco products.’ 113 He lamented: ‘More than 400,000 Americans now die of tobacco-related illnesses each year, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.’ 114 President Obama observed: ‘This legislation will not ban all tobacco products, and it will allow adults to make their own choices.’115 He noted 112 See Ron Kirk (19 December 2008) Source Watch Mark Drajem, ‘Ex-Dallas Mayor Kirk Said to be Obama’s Trade Pick’, Bloomberg, 18 December 2008 ‘Lobbyist Record of Texas Democratic Senate Hopeful Kirk Draws Scrutiny’, The Dallas Morning News (Texas), 4 April 2002. 113 President Barack Obama, above n 1. 114 Ibid. 115 Ibid. 37 that this legislation ‘will force these companies to more clearly and publicly acknowledge the harmful and deadly effects of the products they sell’.116 The tobacco industry has brought a range of lawsuits against the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009.117 President Obama reflected upon such litigation: Today, some big tobacco companies are trying to block these labels because they don’t want to be honest about the consequences of using their products. Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising. We’ve always known that the fight to stop smoking in this country won’t be easy.118 There have been variations between how circuit courts in the United States have addressed the challenges by the tobacco industry to graphic health warnings – most notably between Kentucky,119 which dismissed a challenge to graphic health warnings, and the District of Columbia, where the tobacco industry’s challenge was upheld.120 In December 2012, the United States Court of Appeals denied the request by the United States Government for the full court or panel to rehear the case in the District Court of Columbia.121 The United States Government considered appealing the decision to the 116 Ibid. 117 See Discount Tobacco City & Lottery Inc v United States, 674 F 3d 509 (6th Cir, 2012) and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co v Food and Drug Administration, 696 F 3d 1205 (DC Cir, 2012). 118 Jim Kuhnhenn, ‘Obama Scolds Tobacco Companies For Fighting New Cigarette Warning Labels’, The Huffington Post, 17 November 2011 tobacco_n_1099274.html>. 119 Discount Tobacco City & Lottery Inc v United States, 674 F 3d 509 (6th Cir, 2012). 120 RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co v Food and Drug Administration, 696 F 3d 1205 (DC Cir, 2012). 121 Associated Press, ‘Appeals Court Denies Rehearing on Decision Blocking Graphic Health Warnings on Cigarette Packets’, The Washington Post, 6 December 2012 38 Supreme Court of the United States.122 In the end, the Department of Justice sent a letter to the House speaker, saying that it would not ask the Supreme Court of the United States to review the ruling.123 However, the tobacco industry’s challenges to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 have not necessarily been successful, either. In April 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear a challenge to the regime by tobacco companies such as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.124 Such domestic conflict may help explain the focus of the United States Trade Representative’s proposal on tobacco control.125 Such litigation demonstrates that the tobacco industry has increasingly tried to co-opt and appropriate the language of freedom of speech in legal debates. Professor Kevin Outterson has warned that ‘powerful corporations are increasingly using an expanding definition of the First Amendment to challenge public health regulations’.126 He has observed that: ‘For public health advocates, one lesson is that the court-denies-rehearing-on-decision-blocking-graphic-health-warnings-on-cigarette-packs/2012/12/05/ec8e99f4- 3ef1-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story html>. 122 Richard Craver, ‘Successful Appeal of Graphic Cigarette Labels Likely Headed for U.S. Supreme Court’, Winston-Salem Journal, 5 December 2012 3f2e-11e2-b08c-001a4bcf6878 html>. 123 Steve Almasy, FDA Changes Course on Graphic Warning Labels for Cigarettes (20 March 2013) CNN 124 American Snuff v United States, 12-521 (2013); Greg Stohr, ‘Tobacco Industry Spurned by Top Court on Package Warnings’, Bloomberg, 22 April 2013 industry-spurned-by-top-court-on-package-warnings.html> 125 Fact Sheet: TPP Tobacco Proposal (May 2012) Office of the United States Trade Representative 126 Kevin Outterson, ‘Smoking and the First Amendment’ (2011) 365 The New England Journal of Medicine 2351. 39 purpose and mechanism for new regulations must be carefully articulated and documented, especially if any conceivable First Amendment issue can be raised.’127 B The United States Trade Representative’s Proposal on Tobacco Control In 2012, the United States Trade Representative has published a statement on its proposal on tobacco control on its website.128 The statement notes that the Obama Administration sought input from ‘health advocates, farmers, industry stakeholders, and others’ on tobacco and the TPP.129 The United States Trade Representative observed that: ‘The [Obama] Administration also considered the increasing effort both in the United States and around the world over the past several years to regulate tobacco products.’130 Particular reference is made to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (US). While not making the draft proposal publicly available, the United States Trade Representative has published a limited summary, emphasising that the draft proposal has three elements. First, the proposal ‘would explicitly recognize the unique status of tobacco products from a health and regulatory perspective’.131 Second, ‘the proposal would make tobacco products (like other products) subject to tariff phase-outs, thus avoiding putting U.S. tobacco products at a competitive disadvantage and avoiding a precedent for excluding tobacco or other products from future U.S. tariff negotiations’.132 Third, the proposal would ‘include language in the “general exceptions” chapter that allows health authorities in TPP 127 Ibid. 128 Fact Sheet: TPP Tobacco Proposal, above n 125. 129 Ibid. 130 Ibid. 131 Ibid. 132 Ibid. 40 governments to adopt regulations that impose origin-neutral, science-based restrictions on specific tobacco products/classes in order to safeguard public health’.133 Focusing upon the United States, the United States Trade Representative commented: This language will create a safe harbor for FDA tobacco regulation, providing greater certainty that the provisions in the TPP will not be used in a manner that would prevent FDA from taking the sorts of incremental regulatory actions that are necessary to effectively implement the Tobacco Control Act, while retaining important trade disciplines (national treatment, compensation for expropriations, and transparency) on tobacco measures.134 A number of former United States Trade Representatives have written to the current United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Ron Kirk, urging him not to propose a tobacco- specific exception.135 The authors portrayed the provisions creating policy space as open to abuse by recalcitrant trading partners. The authors stated: While we are confident that the United States would not adopt or impose measures that restrict trade or investment without a sound basis to do so, we have witnessed over the years other governments attempting to justify their protectionist measures in the name of health or safety, especially in agriculture.136 133 Ibid. 134 Ibid. 135 Benn McGrady, ‘The Tobacco Specific Trans-Pacific Partnership Exception and Customary International Law’ on O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Trade, Investment & Health (27 June 2012) 136 Ibid. 41 137 At the Auckland talks in November 2012, the United States Trade Representative refused to table the proposal on tobacco control, because the agency was still apparently reviewing input from stakeholders. A spokeswoman for the office said: ‘We are still reflecting on what we’ve heard from stakeholders on our TPP tobacco proposal, and will be continuing consultations beyond the December 3–12 Auckland round to determine the right balance on this issue.’138 Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, has been displeased by this prevarication: ‘USTR consulted fully before it crafted its proposal. There is nothing that will satisfy the tobacco companies.’139 His concern was that the United States Trade Representative was retreating from its proposal to protect tobacco control measures. This proposal seems rather parochial, modelled upon United States domestic law and political exigencies. Benn McGrady comments: ‘It seems worth adding that the proposal appears more responsive to the outcome of US–Clove Cigarettes and preserving the regulatory powers of the FDA than to contemporary developments, such as ongoing claims against Australia and Uruguay.’140 By 2013, the USTR had retreated from its proposal for a safe harbour in respect of tobacco control, to the dismay of public health advocates. C United States Congressman Henry Waxman’s Critique 137 ‘USTR Holding Off on Tabling TPP Tobacco Proposal at Auckland Round’ (22 November 2012) 30(46) Inside US Trade (online). 138 Ibid. 139 Ibid. 140 Benn McGrady, ‘Tobacco in the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Trade, Tobacco, Health’ on O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Trade, Investment & Health (29 November 2012) 42 Senior United States Congressman Henry Waxman has raised significant reservations about the proposed text on tobacco control.141 He commented: In light of recent trade challenges to U.S. and Australian tobacco control laws, I am concerned that the exemption contemplated in the U.S. proposal emphasizes regulatory measures and fails to also explicitly exempt statutory tobacco control measures that otherwise meet the origin-neutral and science-based criteria set forth in the Proposal.142 Congressman Waxman stressed that in his view: ‘it is essential to safeguard countries’ sovereign authority to take the most appropriate and most feasible action to protect the health of their citizens.’143 Waxman was also ‘deeply troubled that the U.S. Proposal fails to exclude tobacco products from tariff schedule reductions’.144 He observed: ‘This element of the Proposal is contrary to the intent and the spirit of the “Doggett Amendment” and Executive Order 13193 issued by President Clinton, both of which prohibit the U.S. government from promoting the sale or export of tobacco products.’145 Congressman Waxman emphasised the need for the United States Trade Representative to respect local laws: ‘In the case of the United States, this would safeguard the implementation of the Tobacco Control Act, legislation that is critically important in addressing our country’s ongoing problem with tobacco addiction.’146 141 Letter from Representative Henry Waxman to the United States Trade Representative (22 May 2012) 142 Ibid., 2. 143 Ibid. 144 Ibid. 145 Ibid. 146 Ibid., 3. 43 D Further Criticism of the Tobacco Control Text In a letter to Ambassador Ron Kirk, United States health groups observed: ‘There is a global consensus that governments should be doing everything possible to reduce consumption of tobacco products and the resulting harms from that consumption.’147 The organisations maintain that ‘Trade agreements should not undermine the authority of governments to [reduce tobacco use].’148 The groups note that ‘This consensus is reflected in the world’s first public health treaty, the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, under which 175 countries have made legally binding commitments to enact effective tobacco control measures.’149 The health groups comment that ‘the global goal of reducing tobacco usage is in contrast to the usual free trade goal of expanding access to and consumption of products.’150 The submission emphasised: ‘Tobacco products killed 100 million people in the 20th century and will kill one billion people in the 21st century unless governments take urgent action.’151 Chris Bostic, deputy director for policy at the Action on Smoking and Health, has commented that the United States regime is parochial, and very focused upon domestic 147 Letter from the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Cancer Research, American Association for Respiratory Care, American Cancer Society – Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, National Latino Tobacco Control Network, Oncology Nursing Society, and Partnership for Prevention to the United States Representative (22 May 2012) 148 Ibid., 1. 149 Ibid. 150 Ibid. 151 Ibid. 44 United States law.152 He has noted that officials from the United States Trade Representative ‘recognize the weaknesses … in that it won’t apply to a lot of the ways that other countries do tobacco control regulations’.153 Dr Margaret Chan of the World Health Organization has warned: ‘The incentive for industry to use international trade or investment agreements in lobbying or litigation is especially high when potentially trend-setting measures are at stake.’154 She stressed: ‘This is true for very large health warnings on packs in Uruguay, legislation mandating plain packaging in Australia, and a ban on point-of-sales advertising in Norway.’155 There is a failure to acknowledge or recognise the primacy of international law on tobacco control. Conspicuously, the summary of the proposed text on the TPP fails to mention the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and its accompanying guidelines. This omission is regrettable and lamentable. There is a need to ensure that the TPP does not affect the comprehensive range of tobacco control measures contemplated by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – such as the plain packaging of tobacco products. Furthermore, there is also a need to ensure that any future tobacco control initiatives under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – or by any enterprising governments – are not stymied by the TPP. 152 Ibid. 153 Ibid. 154 Margaret Chan, ‘Global Governance of Tobacco in the 21st Century’ (Speech delivered at the Harvard University Conference on Governance of Tobacco in the 21st Century: Strengthening National and International Policy for Global Health and Development, Cambridge, MA, 26 February 2013) 155 Ibid. 45 Conclusion In conclusion, there are deep concerns about both the process and the substance of the TPP – particularly as it pertains to public health. The pernicious secrecy surrounding the negotiations of the treaty has been unacceptable. The submissions of parties, the negotiating texts and the talks should be open and transparent. Politicians, health advocates, civil society groups, and the wider public should be able to participate in the discussions, particularly given the sweeping nature of the agreement. A number of the chapters of the TPP have implications for tobacco control measures – particularly graphic health warnings and the plain packaging of tobacco products. The intellectual property chapter should not adopt ‘TRIPs–Plus’ or ‘TRIPS–Double Plus’ standards. There is a need to ensure that member states can take a range of measures to address public health concerns, without interference from tobacco companies under the guise of intellectual property rights. The investment chapter of the TPP should be abandoned, especially given the weak protections for public health. There is a need to internationally address the abuse of state–investor dispute settlement clauses by tobacco companies. Technical barriers to trade could also be an issue.156 The United States Trade Representative’s text on tobacco control is lamentably 156 ‘International Trade and Standards: An Interview with Jeff Weiss, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’ (May/June 2011) ASTM Standardization News Report 2012 (July 2012). Countries have raised issues on technical barriers to trade in a number of WTO disputes including: Panel Report, United States − Measures Affecting the Production and Sale of Clove Cigarettes, WTO Doc WT/DS406/R (2 September 2011); Appellate Body Report, United States − Measures Affecting the Production and Sale of Clove Cigarette, WTO Doc WT/DS406/AB/R (4 April 2012). See also World Trade Organization, Australia − Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging (18 December 2012) 46 parochial. There is a need to ensure that the TPP in no way curtails, or confines, tobacco control measures as contemplated by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – either in its present form or in future revisions. Moreover, there is a need to be wary that the TPP is a mercurial treaty – a ‘living agreement’ which can be updated to ‘address trade issues that emerge in the future as well as new issues that arise with the expansion of the agreement to include new countries’.157 Future iterations of the treaty must not undermine global efforts to combat the tobacco epidemic. Laurent Huber, the executive director of Action on Smoking and Health in Washington, DC, makes an eloquent case for why tobacco should be excluded from the TPP altogether: Responsible trade policy acknowledges what we’ve known for decades: Tobacco is a uniquely dangerous product that causes death and disease from ordinary use. Tobacco is not just another agricultural product that deserves promotion through U.S. trade policy. It is the target of the world. The World Health Organization’s first and only treaty – which all of the TPPA countries, except for the United States, have ratified – recognizes the devastating effects of tobacco and its increasing threat to global health and welfare. Including tobacco in the TPPA would undermine the success of this treaty in preventing tobacco-related disease around the world.158 Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging (20 November 2012) Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging (18 December 2012) 157 Rimmer, ‘A Mercurial Treaty’, above n 59. 158 Laurent Huber, ‘Tobacco from all Nations Excluded in Trade Pact’, Kentucky.com, 30 April 2012 47 Susan Liss, the executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, reflects that: ‘Reforms to specific parts of the TPPA such as the technical barriers to trade, intellectual property, or investment chapters may address part of the problem, but even that would not prevent second guessing of legitimate efforts as being more trade restrictive than necessary.’159 She insists that: ‘Anything other than exclusion of tobacco products may continue the chilling effect of threatened lawsuits, preventing countries from enacting public health protections for their citizens.’160 As such, there is a need to ensure that the TPP is not hijacked by Big Tobacco for the purposes of encouraging the trade in tobacco, and warding off the introduction of tobacco control measures.161 The plain packaging of tobacco products – and other best practices in tobacco control – should be embraced by all members of the Pacific Rim. 159 Susan Liss, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Urges Trans Partnership Agreement Negotiators to Exempt Tobacco Products from the Proposed Free Trade Agreement, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids 160 Ibid. 161 Mike Bloomberg, ‘Why is Obama Caving on Tobacco?’, The New York Times, 22 August 2013, ‘The Hazard of Free-Trade Tobacco’, The New York Times, 31 August 2013, ‘Stop TPP Protections for Big Tobacco’, The Huffington Post, 9 September 2013, Eric Mar, ‘U.S. Must Take Tobacco Out of Global Trade Talks’, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 September 2013, 4819528.php> 48 New Zealand, Plain Packaging, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership InfoJustice (2014) Dr Matthew Rimmer The New Zealand Parliament is considering the adoption of plain packaging of tobacco products with the introduction of the Smoke-Free Environments (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Amendment Bill 2014 (NZ). There has been strong support for the measure amongst the major parties – including the National Party; the Maori Party; the Labor Party; and the Greens. The New Zealand parliamentary debate has considered matters of public health and tobacco control; the role of intellectual property law; and the operation of international trade and investment law. 49 The Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, a member of the National Party, has been proud of the New Zealand Government’s work in respect of tobacco control and plain packaging: ‘We have created a turning point in the campaign against tobacco with more effective action than ever before on an unprecedented scale - annual tobacco excise increases, systematic screening and cessation support, the end of retail displays, and the inevitability of plain packaging.’ The Associate Minister of Health, Tariana Turia, an MP for the Maori Party, has been a driving force behind the introduction of the legislative regime. In her first reading speech, she emphasized the need to address the brand imagery deployed by Big Tobacco to recruit consumers to use their addictive products: In essence, the decision to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products in New Zealand is all about the branding. It takes away the last means of promoting tobacco as a desirable product. When tobacco manufacturers push tobacco, they are not simply selling a stick of nicotine; they are selling status, social acceptance, and adventure. The design and appearance of tobacco products and, in particular, the way they are packaged influence people’s perceptions about these products and the desirability of smoking. Brand imagery demonstrably increases the appeal of tobacco brands, particularly to youth and young adults, helping to attract new smokers and also implying wider social approval for tobacco use. Tariana Turia observed: ‘For too long tobacco companies have been creating brands in advertising to persuade us to think that smoking is glamorous, fun, cool, sophisticated, and a part of life, knowing that they had to sell only the myth, and the nicotine addiction would take over.’ 50 In her speech, Tariana Turia emphasized that the introduction of plain packaging would protect the ‘health of future generations while at the same time taking prudent responsibility for the use of taxpayer funds.’ She stressed that plain packaging would support and complement existing tobacco control measures as part of a comprehensive public health strategy: This bill is about sending a very clear message to tobacco companies that this Government is serious about ending unnecessary deaths and poor health outcomes related to tobacco use. The intent of the legislation is to prevent the design and appearance of packaging and of products themselves from having any visual or other effect that could serve to promote the attractiveness of the product or increase the social appeal of smoking. The plain packaging regime will tightly control the design and appearance of tobacco product packaging and of the products themselves by allowing the brand name and certain other manufacturer information to be printed on the pack, but with tight controls—for example, on the font used, its size, its colour, and its position on the pack. It will standardise all other design elements of tobacco product packaging, such as the materials, colours, and type faces or fonts that may be used. It will require the packaging to carry larger, more prominent, and more pertinent warning messages and graphic images, controlling the design and appearance of individual cigarettes and other products. The colouring and wording used on tobacco packaging has been shown to create misconceptions that tobacco products are less harmful and that it is easier to quit than is in fact the case. Tariana Turia noted the global tobacco epidemic identified by the World Health Organization: ‘Internationally, smoking remains the largest cause of preventable death’. She was concerned that tobacco use ‘contributes to profound health and social inequalities, and outcomes for Māori and Pasifika peoples’. Tariana Turia emphasized: ‘There is no other consumer product that is so widely used and that directly poses such a high level of health 51 risk to users, particularly long-term users.’ She commented: ‘Quitting smoking or, even better, never smoking is the key to enjoying a longer and healthier life with loved ones.’ Moreover, the Associate Minister for Health emphasized that the legislative regime was consistent with New Zealand’s international obligations: ‘This bill will support New Zealand in meeting its international obligations and commitments under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and it will align the tobacco plain packaging legislation in Australia consistent with the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement’. Dr Paul Hutchison – of the National Party – added that ‘the purpose of this legislation indeed is to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products, but particularly the aim is to reduce the tobacco uptake particularly among young people.’ He noted: ‘As the Hon Tariana Turia mentioned in her speech, branding can be very appealing to young people in its many forms and sorts, and in fact it can be very appealing to all people’. Hutchinson emphasized: ‘The whole aim of the tobacco companies is to induce that Pavlovian dog reflex whereby the person who sees the brand just cannot help but get stuck into the goodies, and the whole idea of this legislation is indeed to help reduce the glamorisation of packaging that the tobacco companies have been just so very happy to use, despite the harm tobacco causes.’ Dr Paul Hutchison vowed that his party would defend the tobacco control measures in international trade debates: ‘We have clearly signalled that we will not compromise our sovereign right to protect the public health of our people.’ He stressed: ‘This legislation is another step in protecting the public’s health from the proven harms of tobacco.’ 52 Iain Lees-Galloway – representing Labour for Palmerston North – welcomed the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products. He emphasized that the Labour Party had a proud record on public health and tobacco control: ‘It goes right back, of course, to 1989-90, when the Smoke-free Environments Act, the Act that this bill amends, was first passed by the Labour Government under then health Minister Helen Clark’. He noted: ‘This is just another step in a long line of measures that have over the last three decades moved us towards a smoke-free future, but now we have the absolute goal that we want New Zealand to be smoke-free by 2025’. Lees-Galloway commented that plain packaging would be a useful, effective measure: There is no reason for branding to be used to differentiate cigarettes, because tobacco is tobacco is tobacco. It does not matter what you wrap it up in; it kills. Five thousand people are killed every year as a result of tobacco-related diseases. It kills around half its users. That is not a normal product that ought to be treated normally like any other consumable. It does not belong in dairies next to the bread and the milk and the lollies. And it does not deserve to have branding designed to entice young people to use this lethal product. Lees-Galloway observed: ‘The tobacco industry wails and cries every time a measure like this is implemented, and the more it wails, the more I am convinced that we are doing the right thing’. He supported the Smoke-free Environments (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Amendment Bill 2014 (NZ): ‘What it seeks to do is to get rid of the last bastion of tobacco advertising.’ In a powerful speech, Clare Curran – representing Labour in Dunedin South – noted the insidious influence of marketing by the tobacco industry: ‘That is why we have so many people in our country and in our world who smoke—because of the really clever marketing 53 and because the product is so addictive.’ She applauded the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products in Australia, and the ruling of the High Court of Australia that the regime was constitutional. Clare Curran offered a devastating critique of Big Tobacco’s arguments about trade and intellectual property: I want to say that the argument that is used by big tobacco—the apologists that pretend that this is a debate about intellectual property rights or removing barriers to trade—is wrong and that that has been proven. The sovereign right of Parliament to make its own laws on matters of public interest should be something that we should all fight for. I want to refer quickly to a paper called ‘Packaging phoney intellectual property claims. How multinational tobacco companies colluded to use trade and intellectual property arguments they knew were phoney to oppose plain packaging and larger health warnings. And how governments fell for their chicanery.’ I urge everybody to track down this paper and to read it, because it shows that the companies decided to fight plain packaging on trade grounds because it provided them a more solid footing than allowing health issues to enter the debate. Highlighting the ruling of the High Court of Australia, Clare Curran concluded: ‘We should not be taking notice of Big Tobacco’s argument that this is an intellectual property argument, because it is not. There is no basis in law for that argument.’ Phil Goff – representing Labour in Mt Roskill – provided a critique of the trade arguments of Big Tobacco and its fellow travellers. It is a condemnation of not only the tobacco industry but the fellow travellers and the apologists for that industry, who would pretend that they can dictate to this country about what we should do in terms of tobacco promotion. It is a long list: the Emergency Committee for American Trade, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Foreign Trade Council, the US-ASEAN Business Council, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the United States Council for International Business. Shame on those groups, which in many other aspects of their work do responsible work, that they should act as 54 apologists for a product that kills people. They may pretend that the debate is about intellectual property. They may pretend that the debate is about removing barriers to trade. I am a believer in reasonable protection for intellectual property and I am a strong believer that we should remove barriers to trade, but neither argument stacks up to defend the promotion of a product that kills people if used as the manufacturer intends. Neither argument stands up. They are red herrings. Those councils, those vested interest groups, should butt out of our debate. New Zealand, as every country does, must have the sovereign right to legislate and to regulate for the public good. Goff encouraged the New Zealand Parliament: ‘We should not lack the courage to confront the vested interests that promote for their own material benefit the peddling of tobacco as a lethal product.’ He emphasized that the regime is aligned with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: ‘We should not be frightened to bring this legislation in on the date that we consider appropriate and to take on those corporates, because we would have the support of the World Health Organization.’ He was rightly sceptical of challenges to Australia’s plain packaging regime under the World Trade Organization: ‘I do not believe for a moment that another international body, the World Trade Organization, would in the end defend the right of companies to kill people with their products.’ Goff highlighted the need to ensure that tobacco control measures – such as the plain packaging of tobacco products – were not undermined by the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Lees-Galloway emphasized the need for transparency in respect of the Trans-Pacific Partnership: ‘The real concern is that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will foist upon New Zealand rules and regulations that stop us from doing exactly this, which is to legislate in the best interests of the public health of New Zealanders’. He warned of the danger of investor- state dispute settlement regimes: ‘We are watching Australia closely, but I want New 55 Zealanders to understand that the agreement that Australia has with Hong Kong was poorly drafted in this area and left Australia exposed to the type of litigation that it is facing’. Lees-Galloway observed: ‘We need to know whether the Trans-Pacific Partnership will have any bearing on the implantation of this legislation, and we on this side of the House are concerned that the reason the Government does not want this legislation to be implemented as soon as it is passed by Parliament, and instead is handing that right over to itself, the Government, is that it wants to keep in the back pocket the opportunity not to enforce this legislation, in the event that it sells off to American interests that are pushing their agenda through the Trans-Pacific Partnership our right—our Sovereign right—to legislate in the interests of the public health of New Zealanders.’ He concluded: ‘New Zealand is a Sovereign nation that ought to be able to say that we do not accept that 5,000 of our citizens are killed every year by tobacco, and that we do not accept that the tobacco industry has the right to push its product on to youngsters to try to get them hooked at an early age so that when they do make the decision that they want not to smoke any more, they are addicted to nicotine and unable to get away from the habit’. The politician stressed: ‘We do not want the tobacco industry to be able to do that, and we do not want to give up our right to regulate in the interests of New Zealanders.’ Metiria Turei – the co-leader of the New Zealand Greens – expressed her concern about the health impacts of tobacco: ‘For every person I love who smokes cigarettes, that cigarette is a direct threat to their life’. She observed: ‘That cigarette increases their chances of dying of some horrible disease much, much younger than they would otherwise’. She was also concerned that tobacco had a particularly significant and harmful impact on Maori 56 communities. Turei commented: ‘What is most important to me about this legislation is that it controls the industry.’ She emphasized: We do have controls on advertising and other forms of regulatory control over the industry, but more is needed and this is a great first step. We—the country, the Government, the community—are being threatened by the tobacco industry. We saw in today’s paper that there are further threats by the tobacco industry for the consequences of this policy. We are quite right in saying, so be it, bring it on. We are in the job of making good policy for the health and well-being of our country, and none of us make any apologies for that whatsoever. If that causes a cost to an industry that peddles a drug that kills, well then so be it. They bear that cost. They are in that industry. That is a cost that they have to take. Turei dismissed the arguments of Big Tobacco about plain packaging of tobacco products. She noted: ‘Actually, the argument by them really was: we want to keep our branding, we want to keep control of the industry.’ Kevin Hague – the spokesperson on Health for the New Zealand Greens – emphasized that nothing is ‘more fundamental to the role of a Government than to prevent the death of its citizens’. He hoped that the New Zealand Government implemented plain packaging of tobacco products, without delay or hesitation: In the face of the size of this problem and the role that this measure can play in solving that problem I do not believe that that kind of delay can possibly be acceptable. Tobacco companies are scared of this bill. They are scared of this measure. Indeed, it falls into a pattern that has existed for every one of the tobacco control measures that has been implemented in every country every time. Tobacco companies have fought them tooth and nail and the ferocity of their fighting has been proportional to the likely effectiveness of the measure being considered. Their sole motivation is profit maximisation. That is not a goal that our State, our Parliament ought to share. 57 Kevin Hague stressed that ‘every nation has the sovereign right to protect the health of its people.’ He warned that ‘Delaying implementation is caving in to the threats, extortion, and delaying tactics of an evil industry.’ Barbara Stewart of NZ First expressed uncertainties about the legislation, and its impact upon public health. She noted: ‘This is a very thought-provoking piece of legislation. I am not a smoker.’ She observed: ‘It is important, we believe, to get the views of the submitters on a bill such as this, because it can have unintended consequences, both positive and negative.’ John Banks – the leader of ACT – provided some opposition to the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products. He asserted that the plain packaging of tobacco products violated the intellectual property rights of tobacco companies: This bill guts the intellectual property rights of tobacco companies. Some will ask: well, who cares? But do we want to gut the intellectual property rights of KFC or Red Bull sugar drinks? KFC and Red Bull sugar drinks are putting this country’s level of obesity up at the top of the OECD. They help to contribute to that. It may be seen as a long bow, but the removal of intellectual property rights to the names and brandings of their products from tobacco companies without compensation is wrong, because which international company selling products that are bad for our health will be the next target? The State is effectively seizing their property because it does not like the health effects of their still lawful business. It is still a lawful business. Such arguments are misconceived and ill-founded. In a decisive 6-1 majority, the High Court of Australia emphasized that intellectual property was designed to serve larger public interests – such as the protection of public health. The High Court of Australia held that plain packaging did not constitute an acquisition of property. Rejecting ‘slippery slope’ arguments 58 by the tobacco industry, the High Court of Australia also observed that its decision was focused upon tobacco control, rather than any other field of regulation – such as food labelling or soft drink labelling. In light of this debate, the New Zealand Parliament should introduce the plain packaging of tobacco products in order to protect the public health of its citizens. Such a measure would help fulfil New Zealand’s obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 2003 – in particular, Articles 11 and 13 of the agreement, and the accompanying guidelines. The New Zealand Parliament should introduce plain packaging of tobacco products without delay or prevarication. The Australian Government has a strong case in defending the plain packaging of tobacco products under both the TRIPS Agreement 1994 and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade 1994. Australia’s opponents have been engaged in dilatory tactics, and have been seeking to stall or delay the disputes. The New Zealand Parliament should take note of the debate in the Australian Parliament over the plain packaging of tobacco products, and emulate the Australian legislative model of The Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 (Cth). The New Zealand Parliament should also take heed of the decisive ruling of the High Court of Australia – which decisively rejected the intellectual property arguments of Big Tobacco about the plain packaging of tobacco products. The New Zealand Parliament should also ensure that its plain packaging regime is not exposed to challenge by tobacco companies under investor-state dispute settlement clauses. There is a need to guarantee that the Trans-Pacific Partnership does not undermine tobacco control measures in the Pacific Rim. New Zealand should play a leadership role in 59 the Pacific, and promote the adoption of measures, such as graphic health warnings, and the plain packaging of tobacco products in the region. [In December 2015, New Zealand nurses called upon the New Zealand Government to implement plain packaging of tobacco products, after Australia’s victory in an investor- state dispute settlement battle with Philip Morris. NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku commented: The New Zealand Government has been very clear that it was ‘wait and see’ for plain packaging over here, depending on the outcome of the Philip Morris case in Australia. Today the court proved the tobacco giant had no leg to stand on, and there is no further reason to delay introducing plain packaging in New Zealand. Time lost is lives lost. I’m calling on the Government to announce plain packaging laws here immediately. Those lured to smoke by tobacco companies’ marketing are predominantly young, MÄori and female. Any further delays will be responsible for more grieving whÄnau missing out on years with their daughters, sisters and mums. The best Christmas present the Government could give whÄ nauouncing is ann plain packaging today.162 In 2016, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key indicated that he would finally implement plain packaging of tobacco products by the end of the year].163 162 Fuseworks Media, ‘NZNO Calls for Tobacco Plain Packaging in NZ’, 18 December 2015, http://www.voxy.co nz/politics/nzno-calls-tobacco-plain-packaging-nz/5/240450 163 Stacey Kirk, ‘Tobacco Plain Packaging Likely to Be Law by End of Year – John Key’, Stuff.co.nz, 15 November 2016, http://www.stuff.co nz/national/politics/76917027/tobacco-plain-packaging-likely-to-be-law- by-end-of-year--john-key 60 CANADA (2016) The Heart and Stroke Foundation The New Canadian Government has promised the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products.164 The Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has requested his Minister for Health Dr Jane Philpott to ‘Introduce plain packaging requirements for tobacco products, similar to those in Australia and the United Kingdom.’165 The Montreal Gazette applauded the move by the new Trudeau Government: 164 Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, ‘Minister of Health Mandate Letter’, http://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister-health-mandate-letter See also Mark Kennedy, ‘Tobacco Packaging, Trans Fats to Be Part of Government’s “Activist” Health Agenda’, Ottawa Citizen, 19 November 2015, http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/tobacco-packaging-eliminating-trans-fats-to-be-part-of-governments- activist-health-agenda 165 Ibid. 61 The federal government’s plan to impose plain packaging on cigarettes is a welcome addition to the long list of measures already taken to make smoking unattractive, inconvenient, expensive and socially unacceptable. And the plan, coupled with Quebec’s latest anti-smoking legislation — adopted unanimously by the National Assembly in November — promises to make this province a leader in the fight against tobacco use. Under the federal initiative, tobacco companies will be forced to remove their logos and colours from cigarette packs, leaving only the brand name in uniform lettering along with large, graphic health warnings already mandated by the government. Quebec’s law, meanwhile, extends the ban on smoking to places that include bar and restaurant terrasses, and cars containing children, and sets restrictions on the size of cigarette packs so they cannot be made to look like iPods or lipstick, among other measures. The federal and provincial measures have been applauded by anti-smoking advocates and health groups. It’s unclear when the new federal rules will kick in, though the sooner, the better, given that smoking is responsible for one-third of cancers in Canada. Any move that stands to help smokers kick the habit — and prevent young people from picking it up — warrants urgent action. Anti-smoking groups say existing cigarette packs serve as colourful “mini-billboards” for tobacco that find their way into schoolyards, and that every day there are young people who take up smoking despite the large health warnings on the packaging. It’s a promising sign that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has mandated Health Minister Jane Philpott to make the file one of her top priorities.166 166 Editors, ‘Plain Packaging for Cigarettes Makes Sense in Canada and Beyond’, Montreal Gazette, 6 January 2016, http://montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-plain-packaging-for-cigarettes-makes- sense-in-canada-and-beyond 62 The Canadian Cancer Society is also enthusiastic about the Liberal Pledge to demand plain packaging of tobacco products.167 The Heart and Stroke Foundation has encouraged the adoption of plain and standardised packaging.168 The Canadian Government has put out a tender to explore the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products.169 Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, observed: It’s very positive that the government is moving ahead. The sooner we have tobacco plain packaging, the sooner we can have the health benefits. Plain packaging will reduce the appeal of tobacco packages and brands. Right now, tobacco companies are using brand colours and logos to make cigarettes more attractive. That might include mountain scenes or feminine pastels, it might include super-slim packages targeted at women.170 Cunningham observed that the legal actions by Big Tobacco have failed elsewhere: ‘The tobacco companies may threaten, or take the Canadian government to court, but the tobacco companies will lose.’171 He observed: ‘The fact that the companies oppose this is a further 167 Gloria Galloway, ‘Liberal Pledge to Demand Plain Cigarette Packaging Draws Cheers’, The Globe and Mail, 30 October 2015, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/liberal-pledge-to-demand-plain- cigarette-packaging-draws-cheers/article27054353/ 168 Heart and Stroke Foundation, ‘Tobacco Position Statement’, http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.3799307/k.E453/Position Statements Tobacco Positi on Statement htm 169 Monique Muise, ‘Plain Cigarette Packaging Likely Coming to Canada’, Global News, 14 March 2016, http://globalnews.ca/news/2576338/plain-cigarette-packaging-likely-coming-to-canada/ 170 Ibid. 171 Ibid. 63 signal of its impact’.172 Cunningham noted: ‘If it wasn’t going to work, why would they oppose it?’173 The evidence from Australia has been that plain packaging of tobacco products has been an effective means of reducing tobacco consumption.174 172 Ibid. 173 Ibid. 174 Australian Government, Post-Implementation Review Tobacco Plain Packaging 2016, Canberra: Australian Government, 2016, https://ris.govspace.gov.au/files/2016/02/Tobacco-Plain-Packaging-PIR.pdf 64 CODA (2016) In the end, the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deals with tobacco control in quite a minimalist way. The United States Trade Representative provides this overview of its approach to the topic of tobacco control: Tobacco is a product that poses unique public health challenges, as is reflected in each Party’s tobacco control regulations. In order to ensure that each Party has the ability to regulate manufactured tobacco products and protect public health, TPP, for the first time in any trade agreement, builds on structures established in the agreement to give each Party the right to decide that its tobacco control measures for manufactured tobacco products cannot be challenged by private investors under Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). Other provisions of the agreement, including state-to-state dispute settlement procedures by governments, will continue to apply. This provision does not apply to tobacco leaf; under TPP, U.S. tobacco farmers will have enhanced opportunities to compete fairly in foreign markets by the elimination of foreign tariffs on tobacco leaf.175 Article 29.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership provides: Article 29.5: Tobacco Control Measures [12] A Party may elect to deny the benefits of Section B of Chapter 9 (Investment) with respect to claims challenging a tobacco control measure[13] of the Party. Such a claim shall not be submitted to arbitration under Section B of Chapter 9 (Investment) if a Party has made such an election. If a Party has not elected to deny benefits with respect to such claims by the time of the submission of such a 175 United States Trade Representative, ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Chapter 29 – General Exceptions – Chapter Summary’, https://medium.com/the-trans-pacific-partnership/exceptions-1299fbf34b76#.jcdrabnhe 65 claim to arbitration under Section B of Chapter 9 (Investment), a Party may elect to deny benefits during the proceedings. For greater certainty, if a Party elects to deny benefits with respect to such claims, any such claim shall be dismissed.176 Footnote 12 provides: ‘For greater certainty, this Article does not prejudice: (i) the operation of Article 9.14 (Denial of Benefits); or (ii) a Party’s rights under Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) in relation to a tobacco control measure’. 177 Footnote 13 provides: ‘A tobacco control measure means a measure of a Party related to the production or consumption of manufactured tobacco products (including products made or derived from tobacco), their distribution, labeling, packaging, advertising, marketing, promotion, sale, purchase, or use, as well as enforcement measures, such as inspection, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. For greater certainty, a measure with respect to tobacco leaf that is not in the possession of a manufacturer of tobacco products or that is not part of a manufactured tobacco product is not a tobacco control measure.’ 178 Reading this text, it seems that only limited protection is afforded to tobacco control in respect of investor-state dispute settlement (if parties elect to use such protection). There is still scope for country-to-country disputes over tobacco control under Chapter 28 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The text does not provide for an over-arching recognition of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. 176 Article 29.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text 177 Article 29.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text 178 Article 29.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015 https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade- agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text 66 Katherine Shats at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Control provided a commentary upon the text on tobacco control in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.179 She noted: ‘This kind of tobacco-specific carve-out is certainly unprecedented in the history of trade and investment agreements and sets a strong precedent for tobacco control and public health’.180 Shats recognised: ‘An international trade treaty expressly recognizing tobacco products as uniquely harmful and tobacco control measures as requiring specific protection is an incredibly important step which, ideally, would set a floor for future agreements.’ Nonetheless, she questioned whether the text was adequate, sufficient, and comprehensive.181 Katherine Shats highlights the prospect of state-to-state disputes over tobacco control under the Trans-Pacific Partnership: This carve-out may stop future suits by tobacco companies, but it unfortunately that’s only a part of the story. As a footnote to the provision makes clear, it only applies to corporations suing countries, not one country suing another. And as I’ve written about before, convincing and funding a government to file a lawsuit on their behalf is something Big Tobacco is very good at. For example, despite not actually being an exporter of tobacco to Australia, the Ukraine was one of five countries that sued Australia alleging that its plain packaging laws breach WTO law. Why? Well we now know that British American Tobacco and Philip Morris paid the legal costs of at least three of the countries involved in that dispute. Still, the state-state dispute process does make it harder for a tobacco company to initiate claims than being able to sue a state directly. Many governments (including those party to the TPP) 179 Katherine Shats, ‘Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a win for Tobacco Control? A First Look at the Tobacco Carve-Out’, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, 11 May 2015, http://www.oneillinstituteblog.org/is-the-trans-pacific-partnership-a-win-for-tobacco-control-a-first-look-at-the- tobacco-carve-out/#.VjzgOFH21WA.twitter 180 Ibid. 181 Ibid. 67 may not agree to bring such actions, and would face significant criticism or ridicule for agreeing to act for Big Tobacco so blatantly (in fact, Ukraine ended up eventually withdrawing from the lawsuit).182 Shats warned: ‘Unfortunately, it still doesn’t seem like this carve-out will do anything to prevent these kinds of practices if they were to occur’.183 She noted: ‘Even more frightening is the prospect that industry could also try to dissuade some governments from opting in and “electing” to trigger this provision in the first place’.184 Shats makes the important point: ‘This entire provision rests entirely on what a government chooses to do.’185 She suggested: ‘Maybe TPP negotiators weren’t ready to carve-out all claims related to tobacco, regardless of whether they are brought by a tobacco company or a state’.186 Shats noted: ‘Though it’s very difficult to believe that any government that isn’t being manipulated and funded by Big Tobacco would genuinely want to sue another country for trying to protect its citizens from tobacco-related disease and death.’187 Ted Alcorn has also discussed trade-offs for public health under the Trans-Pacific Partnership in The Lancet.188 Philanthropists Mike Bloomberg and Bill Gates recently launched a joint legal fund to assist developing countries in legal battles with the tobacco industry over trade and investment. The 182 Ibid. 183 Ibid. 184 Ibid. 185 Ibid. 186 Ibid. 187 Ibid. 188 Ted Alcorn, ‘TPP: Trade-Offs for Health Behind Closed Doors’ (2016) 387 (10022) The Lancet 929- 930 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673616006322 68 Anti-Tobacco Trade Litigation Fund aims ‘to combat the tobacco industry's use of international trade agreements to threaten and prevent countries from passing strong tobacco- control laws’.189 In late 2015, Australia was successful in defending its plain packaging of tobacco products in an investor-state dispute settlement dispute with Philip Morris.190 Minister Fiona Nash commented: We welcome the unanimous decision by the tribunal agreeing with Australia's position that it has no jurisdiction to hear Philip Morris' claim. Smoking does untold harm to Australians, causing deaths from cancer, lung and heart disease, and hurting families. The Coalition government has powered ahead with plain packaging and invested in reducing smoking rates across the board.191 Labor's Health spokeswoman, Catherine King, has paid tribute to the Labor politicians who brought in the laws: ‘This is a great vindication of the work by (former Labor Attorney- General) Nicola Roxon and Tanya Plibersek to promote world leading health.’192 She 189 Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Launch Anti-Tobacco trade Litigation Fund, Press Release, 18 March 2015.http://www.bloomberg.org/press/releases/bloomberg-philanthropies-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-launch- anti-tobacco-trade-litigation-fund/ 190 Gareth Hutchens, ‘Australian Government wins Plain Packaging Case against Philip Morris Asia’, The Canberra Times, 18 December 2015, http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political- news/australian-government-wins-plain-packaging-case-against-philip-morris-20151218-glqo8s html 191 Ibid. 192 Karen Barlow, ‘Trade Pact Tested, Australia Wins Big Tobacco Fight’, The Huffington Post, 18 December 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2015/12/17/australia-plain-packaging-big- tobacco n 8834270.html?utm hp ref=australia 69 emphasized: This is a fantastic public health win.’193 The details of the dispute’s resolution remain murky, though.194 The Greens’ Trade spokesman Senator Peter Whish-Wilson reflected upon the significance of the dispute: Plain packaging has proven to be an effective public policy tool to reduce smoking rates in Australia. Unfortunately as a nation we have signed up to trade and investment treaties that have given corporations the right to sue us for making laws that might impinge on a foreign corporation’s profits. In this case particular case Australia has dodged a bullet because the tribunal has decided they don’t have jurisdiction to decide on this piece of litigation. However, because Australia has signed up to ISDS mechanisms with China, Korea and the United States (via the Trans-Pacific Partnership) we are going to see so much more of this from now on. The Liberal Government has exposed Australia to a spate of claims as all the major multinationals with investments in Australia now have company headquarters located in countries with access to ISDS.195 He concluded: ‘ISDS is the Damocles Sword hanging over Australia's sovereignty and our right to legislate in the public interest. We have reportedly spent over $50 million of taxpayer 193 Ibid. 194 Jarrod Hepburn and Luke Eric Peterson, ‘Australia Prevails in Arbitration with Philip Morris Over Tobacco Plain Packaging Dispute’, Investment Arbitration Reporter, 17 December 2015, https://www.iareporter.com/articles/breaking-australia-prevails-in-arbitration-with-philip-morris-over-tobacco- plain-packaging-dispute/ 195 Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, ‘Plain Packaging Victory is Outstanding for Public Health but ISDS still Hangs like a Damocles Sword over Australian Democracy’, Press Release, 18 December 2015, http://peter- whish-wilson.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/plain-packaging-victory-outstanding-public-health-isds- still-hangs-damocles-s 70 dollars to successfully defend our democratic decisions in this plain packaging case, who knows what the result will be next time.’196 Dr Kyla Tienhaara said that the decision was good news for the Australian Government.197 Professor Tania Voon from Melbourne Law School has warned of the danger of further investor disputes against the Australian Government.198 Glyn Moody commented that, just because Australia won its plain packaging case against Philip Morris does not mean that corporate sovereignty is not a threat.199 Lori Wallach observed that ‘Australians saw more than $50 million of their tax dollars go to legal costs to defend against the attack, according to World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan’.200 196 Ibid. 197 Kyla Tienhaara, ‘The Dismissal of a Case against Plain Cigarette Packaging is Good News for Taxpayers’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 December 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-dismissal- of-a-case-against-plain-cigarette-packaging-is-good-news-for-taxpayers-20151218-glrb53.html 198 Stephen Easton, ‘Sovereign Risk: First ISDS Dispute Won, But It Won’t Be The Last’, The Mandarin, 23 December 2015, http://www.themandarin.com.au/58636-australia-defends-regulatory-sovereignty- challenges-come/?pgnc=1 199 Glyn Moody, ‘Just Because Australia Won Its Plain Packaging Case Against Philip Morris Doesn't Mean Corporate Sovereignty Isn't A Threat’, TechDirt, 23 December 2015, https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151221/10582033149/just-because-australia-won-plain-packaging-case- against-philip-morris-doesnt-mean-corporate-sovereignty-isnt-threat.shtml 200 Lori Wallach, ‘Public Interest Takes a Hit Even When Phillip Morris’ Investor-State Attack on Australia is Dismissed’, The Huffington Post, 1 May 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lori-wallach/public- interest-takes-a-h b 8918010 html 71 Australia has said that it will avail itself of the protection for tobacco control against investor- state dispute settlement under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.201 The nation state said: ‘Pursuant to Article 29.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) signed in Auckland, New Zealand on 4 February 2016, Australia hereby elects to deny the benefits of Section B (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) of Chapter 9 (Investment) of the TPP with respect to any claim in relation to its tobacco control measures. Accordingly, no claim can be submitted to arbitration under the TPP’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism in respect of any tobacco control measure of Australia.’ Clearly, other participants in the Trans- Pacific Partnership should do likewise. Alfred de Zayas, the United Nations Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, has been concerned about the use of investor clauses in respect of tobacco control.202 He emphasized: ‘There is no justification for the existence of a privatised system of dispute settlement that is neither transparent nor accountable’.203 Alfred de Zayas stressed: ‘Investors can have their day in court before national jurisdictions, often with multiple opportunities for appeal.’204 He stressed: ‘Investors can also rely on diplomatic protection and state-to-state dispute settlement procedures.’ In his view, ‘The ISDS cannot be reformed. It must be abolished.’205 Alfred de Zayas maintained that ‘respect for human rights 201 ‘Draft Notification by Australia in respect of Article 29.5 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’, https://t.co/F6kyyuyqZP 202 Alfred de Zayas, ‘How Can Philip Morris Sue Uruguay Over Its Tobacco Laws’, The Guardian, 16 November 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/16/philip-morris-uruguay-tobacco-isds- human-rights?CMP=share btn tw 203 Ibid. 204 Ibid. 205 Ibid. 72 must prevail over commercial laws’.206 In his view, ‘It is time for the UN general assembly to convene a world conference to put human rights at the centre of the international investment regime. In this context, a binding treaty on business and human rights is long overdue.’207 For its part, the Big Tobacco company Philip Morris has protested that it should be able to bring investor actions under trade agreements against tobacco control measures.208 He has maintained that ‘there is no inherent tension in protecting fundamental rights of the private sector while protecting human rights.’209 The Big Tobacco company protests: ‘The implication that our case has “chilled” governments from enacting tobacco control rules is erroneous’.210 Philip Morris argued: ‘Governments that respect the rule of law have nothing to fear from the possibility of independent, objective review of regulatory measures.’211 There remains a real and present danger that tobacco companies will bring further investor actions in the future, or ask states to bring trade actions to protect their interests. 206 Ibid. 207 Ibid. 208 Marc Firestone, ‘Philip Morris – We are Defending Our Business, Not Attacking Human Rights’, The Guardian, 17 November 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/19/philip-morris-we-are- defending-our-business-not-attacking-human-rights 209 Ibid. 210 Ibid. 211 Ibid. 73