US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA398

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000398 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/T AND EB/TPP/ABT/ATP 
DEPT PASS HHS (STEIGER) 
DEPT PASS USTR (JENNIFER PRESCOTT) 
GENEVA FOR HOMAN AND USTR 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, ETRD, CA, WHO 
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL 
(FCTC): CANADIAN VIEWS 
 
REF: STATE 035558 
 
1. As requested in reftel, Embassy passed U.S. views on 
upcoming negotiation of the FCTC in Geneva to officials in 
Health Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and 
International Trade (DFAIT) and Agriculture Canada. 
 
2. EST Counselor followed up with Ed Aiston, Director 
General, International Affairs Directorate at Health Canada 
for Canadian views on the negotiations.  Aiston indicated 
that the GOC's views were very similar to those of the U.S., 
particularly with regard to the relationship between trade 
and domestic health regimes.  He said that Canada had 
proposed the deletion of references in previous texts to 
"trade and health," and was pleased to see that the 
Chairman's text reflected their proposal.  Aiston noted that 
Canada could support reference to "non-discrimination" in 
trade as a "fall-back" position, but wanted to ensure that 
trade and domestic health regimes were treated separately in 
the FCTC.  Given the lack of specific subsidies to Canadian 
tobacco growers, proposals for the treatment of production 
subsidies is of less concern to the GOC. 
 
3. Aiston, who will lead the Canadian delegation to the 
negotiating session in Geneva later this month, asked that 
the Embassy alert Washington agencies to some of the 
concerns that the GOC has in the Chairman's text.  The most 
important concern is with the "conditionality"on tax policy. 
The GOC would like a stronger statement on sovereign rights 
of governments to establish their own tax policies. 
 
4. Also of concern in the Chairman's text is the issue of 
duty-free sales.  The GOC would like to see the duty-free 
issue treated in a separate article that clearly states that 
duty-free sales refer to sales to individuals, and not bulk 
sales.  Finally, the Canadian delegation will propose a 
separate article for "sharing of information on the rates of 
taxation.