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Smoke screen? The globalization of production, transnational lobbying and the international political economy of plain tobacco packaging

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  • Louise Curran
  • Jappe Eckhardt

Abstract

In 2012, Australia became the first country in the world to introduce plain tobacco packaging in an effort to reduce tobacco consumption. This move was vehemently opposed by the tobacco industry, which challenged it on several levels: nationally, bilaterally and multilaterally at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The political behaviour of the tobacco companies in this case is puzzling both in terms of scale, operating at multiple levels at the same time, and in terms of the countries mobilized in their defence. WTO litigation is typically the result of multinational enterprises (MNEs) lobbying their own government, but here third countries were mobilized. Lobbying in third country contexts, with the objective of accessing multilateral dispute settlement systems, has been little studied. We thus know very little about the driving factors behind such activities, how target governments are selected and what lobbying strategies are used. This article draws on emerging research on transnational lobbying and a case study of the plain packaging case to explore these issues in detail and, by doing so, aims to further our theoretical understanding of the political economy of international trade in the context of increasing regime complexity and globalization of production. In addition, the article sheds new light on advocacy in the context of disputes about cross-border challenges to domestic regulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Louise Curran & Jappe Eckhardt, 2017. "Smoke screen? The globalization of production, transnational lobbying and the international political economy of plain tobacco packaging," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 87-118, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rripxx:v:24:y:2017:i:1:p:87-118
    DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2016.1269658
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Crosbie, Eric, 2019. "Removing the last billboard for the tobacco industry: Tobacco standardized packaging in Ireland," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(10), pages 932-935.
    2. BEN YOUSSEF, Adel, 2024. "The role of NGOs in climate policies: The case of Tunisia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 388-401.
    3. Jappe Eckhardt & Hongyu Wang, 2021. "China's new generation trade agreements: Importing rules to lock in domestic reform?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 581-597, July.
    4. Soo Yeon Kim & Gabriele Spilker, 2019. "Global value chains and the political economy of WTO disputes," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 239-260, June.
    5. Barlow, P. & Stuckler, D., 2021. "Globalization and health policy space: Introducing the WTOhealth dataset of trade challenges to national health regulations at World Trade Organization, 1995–2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    6. MacKenzie, Ross & Mathers, Annalise & Hawkins, Benjamin & Eckhardt, Jappe & Smith, Julia, 2018. "The tobacco industry’s challenges to standardised packaging: A comparative analysis of issue framing in public relations campaigns in four countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(9), pages 1001-1011.
    7. Curran, Louise, 2024. "Investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) and the social licence to operate of international business: An analysis of controversial cases," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).

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