The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48660

Amy N. Fairweather, JD and Elizabeth McLoughlin, ScD. Injury Prevention Policy, Trauma Foundation, San Francisco General Hospital, Building 1, Room 300, San Francisco, CA 94110

In 2001, APHA passed a policy statement regarding the threats to global health and equity posed by free trade negotiations (#200121). At stake are local and national regulations affecting taxation, labeling requirements, transportation, and design standards. This has particular significance for injury prevention. International trade regimes have the capacity to nullify injury prevention regulations as "technical barriers to trade". Structures which govern "trade-accepted" regulatory policy are developed and executed without public input in supra-national private forums. Both member nations and private corporate investors can challenge safety regulations as trade barriers. Disputes are resolved through private arbitration and require governments to prove that their regulatory standards are necessary and that there is no less restrictive way to achieve valid public health goals. If the challenged nation fails to meet those burdens, they must pay fines or adjust their domestic safety laws to the satisfaction of the trade organization. International trade agreements also require members to negotiate harmonized safety standards beyond which individual localities may not regulate. In addition, trade agreements include equivalence determinations of trading nations' safety protocols. Safety measures such as inspection methods may be deemed sufficiently similar to stand in for domestic protocols despite marked differences. These developments have a profound affect on how safety regulations are shaped locally and nationally. APHA members must be informed about the intricacies of these policies and take action to assure that the dialogue for free and fair trade recognizes both economic and social values, including injury prevention.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the ways in which international trade agreements impact injury prevention regulations. Assess areas of trade in goods and services which will effect individual injury prevention focus areas; i.e., fire prevention, alcohol policy, occupational safety. Articulate the injury prevention perspective to the public, policy makers and trade representatives.

Keywords: Public Health Advocacy, Injury Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.