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ON NOVEMBER 8, APPROXIMATELY 128,389,674
Americans exercised their civic duty, and cast a vote
for their preferred candidate to lead the United States.
Awaiting Donald J. Trump are questions of assembling
a government, national security, campaign promises on
healthcare reform, infrastructure development, immi-
gration, tax, trade—and that’s just on the initial “100
days” agenda. However, also prominent on the presi-
dent-elect’s transition site is the topic of regulatory reform.
During these closing moments of the current admin-
istration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
is rapidly releasing “guidance” documents and planned
implementation regulations for newly deemed tobacco
products, with items such as ingredient listing and sub-
stantial equivalence guidelines and mandates. The agency
is pressing to ramp up regulation, especially in light of the
election outcome.
Obviously this is not the only federal agency rushing
to issue the proverbial “midnight regulations,” nor is it a
unique circumstance to this administration. Every presi-
dent and federal agency leaps at the opportunity to leave
their lasting mark, and to develop their legacies. Congress
is also rapidly moving legislation to block such regulatory
actions, especially on measures that dramatically affect the
national economy.
Measures such as the Regulatory Reform Act un-
der the bipartisan leadership of Congressman Bob
Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Congressman Colin Peterson
(D-Minn.) seek to establish sound procedures for regu-
lations that have greater than a $100 million econom-
ic impact. Cigar and other tobacco product regulation
would fall within that.
A New Day in
Washington,
D.C.
The new administration and newly
elected congressional leaders are an
opportunity for our industry.
Regulatory reform is
[a] cornerstone of the
Trump administration,
and the effort will include
a temporary moratorium
on all new regulation…
and a thorough review
to identify and eliminate
unnecessary regulations
that kill jobs and bloat
government.
CRA'S CIGAR CORNER
[ GLYNN LOOPE ]
[ 4 ]
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
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02
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The Trump transition has already released a state-
ment noting, “Regulatory reform is [a] cornerstone of
the Trump administration, and the effort will include a
temporary moratorium on all new regulation…and a
thorough review to identify and eliminate unnecessary
regulations that kill jobs and bloat government.”
It is also reassuring that during his service in the U.S.
House of Representatives, Vice President-elect Mike
Pence served as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1639, calling for
a premium cigar exemption from FDA overreach. Addi-
tionally, we look forward to carrying our message to the
nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Congressman Tom Price of Georgia, who was also a for-
mer co-sponsor of premium cigar exemption legislation.
Cigar Rights of America looks forward to working
with the new administration on remediating the threat
federal regulation poses to the premium cigar industry
and building upon the work of the last five years with
the message that this is a clear case of regulatory over-
reach that goes well beyond the congressional intent of
the original Tobacco Control Act.
With the change in White House leadership also
comes uncertainty about actions in Congress. Now that
the House and Senate have passed a Continuing Reso-
lution to fund the government through April of 2017,
there may well be an omnibus budget package more in
the image of the new leadership on both ends of Penn-
PREMIUM
CIGARS