TPP: trade-offs for health behind closed doors.

On Feb 4, 2016, after 7 years of negotiations, representatives from the USA, Japan, and ten other countries signed one of the largest trade and investment agreements in years, the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership (TPP). The negotiations were closed to the public, who only glimpsed drafts of the agreement when they were occasionally leaked. The participants were heavily lobbied by major industries. And the fi nal language has complex implications for domestic policies in the participant countries, including for public health. As legislators consider ratifying the agreement, close observers question how future negotiations could be made to yield a more representative, more legitimate outcome.