The Bush administration took a lot of well-deserved flack for intervening in the Justice Department’s case against Big Tobacco, insisting that the industry pay $10 billion, instead of the $130 billion previously recommended by a government expert witness. But less well known is the administration’s bizarre handling of the international tobacco treaty.
Considering the fact that the industry gave Republicans $2.7 million in the last election cycle, the fact that the Bush gang would come out against an international agreement that would increase taxes on tobacco products to help curtail demand and place stringent restrictions on tobacco advertising is not suprising. Over several years, 171 countries, working through the World Health Organization, negotiated an agreement on curbing the spread of smoking-related illnesses and came up with this framework — which the Bush administration, predictably, tried to block.
In one of the more comical moves, the administration tried to introduce a “reservation clause,” whereby every provision in the tobacco treaty would be voluntary. Any country could “adopt” the treaty, but then opt out of any provision, at any time, for any reason. Naturally, the other countries balked at the U.S. demand to gut the effort.
Then something weird happened: the Bush gang reversed course and offered unconditional support for the endeavor.
The United States, in a surprise reversal, today announced support for an unprecedented, far-reaching international treaty designed to combat tobacco use around the globe.
As the head of the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly, Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of health and human services, said he would formally announce the U.S. position when he addresses the assembly here on Wednesday.
“I’m going to support it — much to the surprise of many around the world,” Thompson said in a briefing. “I’m not going to make any changes. We have no reservations. The delegation here, headed by me, is in support of the tobacco treaty.”
The sudden change of heart, while encouraging, didn’t make any sense. Why would White House officials try to undermine the treaty for over two years and then, out of the blue, decide to embrace it unequivocally?
Because the Bush gang knew what the rest of the world didn’t: the United States would never ratify the treaty. Indeed, it seems Bush never had any intention to.
More than 13 months ago, the United States signed an international tobacco treaty designed to tighten control of cigarette advertising and consumption worldwide, and President Bush said he wanted the Senate to ratify it.
But the treaty — already in effect in 70 nations from Britain to India to Mexico — today remains unratified and little discussed in the United States.
It was May 2004 when then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson signed the treaty for the United States and said, “I’m hopeful we can get this treaty to pass on a bipartisan basis — this year.” It then disappeared into the State Department and so far has not reappeared.
“The treaty is still under interagency review,” State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said, adding that it is unclear when the review will be completed. “No decision has been made.”
But the decision had been made. The administration weighed every detail of the treaty for several years, tried to edit, amend, and re-write the thing, but eventually gave up. The “interagency review” process ended before we agreed to support it.
It’s another black eye for the U.S. on the international stage. Whereas we used to be a world leader in tobacco control, under Bush’s “leadership,” we ignore treaties we’ve agreed to adopt.
Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the administration is forfeiting the United States’ long-standing leadership on tobacco-control issues and faces the prospect of having other nations make decisions that will have a significant impact on U.S. consumers and companies.
“Unlike some of the environmental treaties, nobody can point to any provision of this treaty that would infringe on American autonomy or otherwise adversely affect other American rights. The question then is ‘Why haven’t we even sent the treaty up for ratification?’ ” he asked. “The only answer I can come up with is this: that the administration is listening to our least progressive tobacco companies who oppose the treaty. At one point, the administration considered the treaty worth signing. What happened?”
Good question.