Philip Morris sets a bad example for TTIP

The US corporate takeover of the world is stalling. With cigarette multinational company Philip Morris deciding to try and sue the Australian gov over it's plain packaging laws for cigarettes, groping for every last cent it can get out of it's corporate status, it appears Philip Morris has well and truly shot itself in the foot. 

Not only has it's action become a huge example of why no countries in the Pacific should agree to Trans Pacific Partnership agreement being currently pushed on us by the US for fear of multinational corporations gaining more power than sovereign gov's, but it's also become an example on the other side of the world with the current negotiations with the US pushing for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). 

Australia's plain packaging stoush with the tobacco industry has created policy ripples in some unexpected places, as members of the European Parliament use the Australian stand-off to argue against a free trade agreement with the United States. 

The decision by tobacco giant Philip Morris to take legal action against the Australian government has caught the attention of the European Parliament, which is using the legal wrangle to pour cold water on a trade deal currently under negotiation between the EU and the United States. 

Many in Europe are concerned that once the deal is reached, legitimate health and social policies could then attract legal action taken on the part of aggrieved corporations, and opponents are using Australia's clash with Philip Morris as an example of how badly things can go wrong. source