This time from the NYT editorial board:
The United States is negotiating a trade agreement with 11 Pacific Rim countries right now. American officials have said they plan to include language in that pact, which could be finalized next year, to protect those nations from legal challenges by tobacco companies. Those safeguards must be ironclad and should include provisions to penalize companies that bring frivolous and harassing lawsuits. Governments around the world should add similar provisions to existing trade and investment agreements to stop the tobacco industry’s bullying of sovereign governments.
My sense is they don't really understand the nuances of what's in these agreements, and how that might affect tobacco regulation. It will be interesting to see what happens when there is actual text, and they have to weigh in on whether that text does the job they want done.
