CARIBBEAN SEMINAR ON TOBACCO AND TRADE

Transcription

1 BOOKLET FOR PARTICIPANTS CARIBBEAN SEMINAR ON TOBACCO AND TRADE Accra Beach Hotel, Bridgetown, Barbados 18 May, 2017

2 II. Caribbean Subregional Seminar on Tobacco and Trade. Accra Beach Hotel, Bridgetown, Barbados, 18 May, CONCEPT NOTE 1. Background Trade agreements and international investment agreements are an important part of the international legal framework that can impact domestic regulatory policy. While trade can have economic and societal benefits, especially for low income countries, that can see improvement in health and reduction of communicable diseases, it can also increase consumption of tobacco and other unhealthy products, therefore, having an impact on the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases. In addition, trade agreements may lessen the ability of governments to effectively regulate or enforce regulations on tobacco products, such as restrictions on advertising, health warnings and packaging. The trade and health sectors, which have traditionally operated in separate policy spheres, are increasingly becoming interrelated. In response, and in recognition of the demand for information on the possible implications of international trade and trade agreements for health and health policy at national, regional and global levels, the World Health Assembly adopted Resolution 59.26, in The resolution requests the Director General: (1) to provide support to Member States, at their request and in collaboration with the competent international organizations, in their efforts to frame coherent policies to address the relationship between trade and health; (2) to respond to Member States requests for support of their efforts to build the capacity to understand the implications of international trade and trade agreements for health and to address relevant issues through policies and legislation that take advantage of the potential opportunities, and address the potential challenges, that trade and trade agreements may have for health; (3) to continue collaborating with the competent international organizations in order to support policy coherence between trade and health sectors at regional and global levels, Including generating and sharing evidence on the relationship between trade and health. Resolution calls on the World Health Organization (WHO) to support Member States to achieve greater coherence between international trade and health policy, building the knowledge base, and capacity to recognize the implications of trade and trade agreements on health. Moreover, the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases calls for the secretariat to provide support in assessing the health impact of public policies, including on trade, management of conflict of interest, and maximizing of intersectoral synergies for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in the Americas also calls for integration of NCD prevention in sectors outside of the health sector, including that of trade. Booklet for participants Subregional Seminar on Tobacco and Trade 5

3 In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases where Philip Morris brought legal claims against WHO Member States under International Investment Agreements. In 2011 Philip Morris Asia challenged Australia s introduction of tobacco plain packaging under the Australia-Hong Kong bilateral investment treaty, although in late 2015 the Tribunal determined that there was no jurisdiction to hear the claim based on the circumstances in which Philip Morris undertook a corporate restructure. In July 2016, an international Tribunal dismissed a claim made in 2010 by Philip Morris (Switzerland) that restrictions on the sale of brand variants and an increase in the size of graphic health warnings introduced by Uruguay were in breach of the Switzerland-Uruguay bilateral investment treaty. PAHO supported Uruguay to win the dispute initiated by Philip Morris in the World Bank s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); in reaching its decision, the ICSID considered the arguments put forth by PAHO in its amicus curiae brief. The brief was accepted in view of the Organization's public health mission, with more than 110 years of experience defending health in the Region, and its understanding of the challenges facing the Americas, particularly regarding the tobacco epidemic. In its amicus curiae brief, PAHO expressly supported the tobacco control measures instituted by Uruguay, saying that they are "a reasonable and responsible response to the deceptive advertising, marketing and promotion strategies employed by the tobacco industry and they have proven effective in reducing tobacco consumption". In this context, countries can choose trade-proof measures or work to affect new agreements, as well as setting strong precedents in existing ones. Trade-proof measures treat all categories of products similarly, no matter their national or foreign origin and are not overly trade restrictive. The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is an international treaty with the objective of eliminating all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products through a package of measures to be taken by countries acting in cooperation with each other: it is a global solution to a global problem. The Protocol was developed in response to the growing illegal trade in tobacco products, often across borders. Illicit trade poses a serious threat to public health because it increases access to often cheaper tobacco products, thus fuelling the tobacco epidemic and undermining tobacco control policies. It also causes substantial losses in government revenues, and at the same time contributes to the funding of international criminal activities. These matters were seen as so serious that the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) decided that a protocol a new international treaty was needed to specifically address the illicit tobacco trade. The Protocol is based on Article 15 of the WHO FCTC, which refers to the threats posed by the illicit trade and measures countries have to take to prevent it. The Protocol was negotiated by the Parties to the WHO FCTC over several years and was adopted by them in November The Protocol is open for ratification and accession by Parties to the WHO FCTC. In this context, the Subregional Seminar on Tobacco and Trade proposed by PAHO, aims to build capacity within the Ministries of Health of Caribbean countries to examine and consider international trade and investment commitments when designing and implementing tobacco control policies. Booklet for participants Subregional Seminar on Tobacco and Trade 6

4 2. Objectives The seminar aims to train officers in Ministries of Health to: Understand how obligations in trade and investment treaties impact on the domestic regulatory space. Understand how international Tribunals have interpreted commonly included obligations in trade and investment treaties so as to understand the scope of their current regulations. Analyze how trade and investment treaties apply to tobacco control measures and steps policy makers can take in policy design and implementation to strengthen their legal positions. Understand how the right to regulate is being protected in trade and investment treaties either recently concluded, or currently under negotiation. 3. Agenda and participants The Subregional seminar will take place in Barbados on 18 May, The tobacco control focal points in Ministries of Health of the following Caribbean countries and territories have been invited to attend: PAHO Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. PAHO Associate Members: Aruba, Curacao, Sint Marteen. PAHO Participating States: Anguilla, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Turks and Caicos. To achieve the proposed objectives of the Seminar, this event will include: Technical presentations from international and Caribbean experts on the role of trade in the global tobacco epidemic, free trade agreements and insight on tobacco trade in the Caribbean, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and trade and international foreign investment agreements, disputes within the World Trade Organization, tobacco interference in the Caribbean, and the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco products. Participant countries will exchange information on efforts towards ratification or adhesion process of the WHO FCTC and the protocol to Eliminate Illicit Tobacco Trade. Finally, a discussion on the challenges and opportunities in the Caribbean will be held. Booklet for participants Subregional Seminar on Tobacco and Trade 7

5 AGENDA Caribbean Subregional Seminar on Tobacco and Trade. Accra Beach Hotel, Bridgetown, Barbados, 18 May, Time Topic Min. 08:30 08: Welcome remarks and Objectives of the Seminar Elisa Prieto, NCD and Mental Health Advisor, SPC, PAHO/WHO 08: 09:15 The role of trade in the global tobacco epidemic and the WHO FCTC (15 minutes) Rosa Sandoval, Regional Advisor Tobacco Control, PAHO/WHO Questions and answers (15 minutes) 09:15 09:55 Free trade agreements and customs unions in the Caribbean (20 minutes) Vincent Atkins, Trade Policy and Technical Advisor, CARICOM. 09:55-10:15 Coffee break 20 10:15 11:00 The FCTC and trade and International Foreign Investment Agreements (25 minutes) Andrew Mitchell, Professor, Melbourne Law School 11:00 11: Trade disputes within the WTO and disputes over foreign investment treaties, the cases of Uruguay and Australia (25 minutes) Andrew Mitchell, Professor, Melbourne Law School 11: 12:20 Tobacco Industry Interference in the Caribbean (15 minutes) Barbara McGaw, Tobacco Control Programme Advisor, The Heart Foundation of Jamaica/Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control 12:20-13:20 Lunch break 60 13:20 14:05 The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (15 minutes) Katharina Kummer Peiry, Senior Legal Officer, Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, video presentation 14:05 14:55 Update on the ratification/adhesion process of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (7 countries 7 minutes per country: each country will update on ongoing Legislative processes on tobacco control and adhesion process to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Tobacco Trade in Tobacco Products) 14:55 15:15 Coffee break 20 15:15 16:05 Continuation of the update on the ratification/adhesion process of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (7 countries 7 minutes per country) 16:05-16:35 Next steps: challenges and opportunities in the Caribbean Rosa Sandoval, Regional Advisor Tobacco Control, PAHO/WHO 16:35-16:50 Closing remarks Elisa Prieto, NCD and Mental Health Advisor, SPC, PAHO/WHO Booklet for participants Subregional Workshop on alcohol, tobacco and SSB taxation 8