Seven leading U.S. business associations earlier this month slammed the European Commission's proposed revision to its Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), arguing that the proposal is not based on sound scientific principles and may violate World Trade Organization rules. Moreover, they argued that the proposal calls into question the commitment of the European Union to make progress on regulatory issues in the forthcoming U.S.-EU trade negotiations. The proposal "calls into question the capacity to achieve regulatory commitments that are essential to a successful and meaningful U.S.-EU trade agreement" and "raises serious questions about the EU's commitment to undertake obligations in a U.S.-EU agreement that ensure regulatory best practices, due process and property rights protections," the business groups argued in an April 5 letter that was privately sent to various EU officials.
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