Political origins of health inequities: trade and investment agreements

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, signed on Feb 4, 2016, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently under negotiation, have generated a groundswell of opposition from politicians, civil society, and academics. Growing evidence suggests that they will have major, and largely negative, consequences for health that go far beyond those of earlier trade agreements. This situation is particularly disturbing since the agreements have created blueprints for future bilateral and regional trade agreements: a rewriting of the rules that govern the global economy, promoting corporate interests at the expense of public health priorities.