The TPP Is Dead, Long Live the TPP? A Response to Recent Commentaries

One of President Trump’s first actions on assuming office was to formally withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), ironically an agreement driven more by American business interests than by those of the other 11 signatory countries. But the issues raised in our health impact assessment (HIA) of the TPP, and the insightful commentaries it generated, have not died alongside the agreement. Regardless of the unpredictability of global politics during the Trump presidency, especially in terms of global trade relationships, the importance of ongoing analyses of the health impacts of trade has not abated. If anything, as several commentators note, it requires expansion, not diminishment.