A federal arbitration panel has approved an agreement between the three largest American tobacco makers and 17 states, a move is expected to unfreeze $108 million in payments to North Carolina, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
The agreement is on a new method of payment related to the 15-year-old Master Settlement Agreement where tobacco companies agreed to pay states for the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses. The companies agreed to pay the states $206 billion over two decades and have received more than $85 billion so far.
At issue most recently was that the tobacco makers have said the agreement permits smaller payments if market share is lost to smaller companies that weren’t part of the original agreement. The tobacco makers will get credits as part of the deal.
Amy Dominello Braun, Triangle Business Journal.
