According to a Ministry of Trade press release (25/6), the Indonesian government has officially filed a request with the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body (WTO DSB) to address perceived trade barriers raised by the United States against flavored Indonesian tobacco products.
America’s ‘Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act’ (H.R.1256) was signed by President Barrack Obama on 22 June 2009: it prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products - clove, vanilla, candy and so on - in the United States, with the notable exception of menthol cigarettes. Whereas clove- and other-flavored cigarettes are overwhelmingly imported to the United States from abroad, the country produces menthol-flavored cigarettes domestically.
Statements made in the press release by Indonesia’s Director General of International Trade Cooperation, Gusmardi Bustami, indicate that Indonesia perceives the American move as explicitly favoring its domestic industries above others. Discriminating against competitive international goods without scientific or phytosanitary concerns, stipulates Mr. Bustami, contravenes obligations contained in the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which sets out conditions that must first be met as the basis to prevent goods from entering a member country.
Apart from banning flavored tobacco products, among other things the American regulation additionally gives life to a tobacco control center within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), restricts tobacco sales to face-to-face retail transactions, and introduces stringent packaging rules (e.g., health hazard warnings must cover 50% of the front and back of the box).
Although ‘Big Tobacco’ in the United States has famously opposed efforts to regulate the industry, menthol cigarette manufacturers such as Philip Morris have indicated strong support for this particular Act, perhaps in support of Indonesia’s position that it eliminates potential competition by raising international trade barriers.
Though the ban on certain tobacco products for health reasons may remain a fixture of American law, the Indonesian-perceived double standard of permitting menthol-flavored cigarettes but prohibiting others will certainly be contested as resolution procedures begin at the WTO DSB.
This Indonesian Legal Brief is based upon research conducted by the hukumonline team.
According to a Ministry of Trade press release (25/6), the Indonesian government has officially filed a request with the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body (WTO DSB) to address perceived trade barriers raised by the United States against flavored Indonesian tobacco products.
America’s ‘Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act’ (H.R.1256) was signed by President Barrack Obama on 22 June 2009: it prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products - clove, vanilla, candy and so on - in the United States, with the notable exception of menthol cigarettes. Whereas clove- and other-flavored cigarettes are overwhelmingly imported to the United States from abroad, the country produces menthol-flavored cigarettes domestically.
Statements made in the press release by Indonesia’s Director General of International Trade Cooperation, Gusmardi Bustami, indicate that Indonesia perceives the American move as explicitly favoring its domestic industries above others. Discriminating against competitive international goods without scientific or phytosanitary concerns, stipulates Mr. Bustami, contravenes obligations contained in the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which sets out conditions that must first be met as the basis to prevent goods from entering a member country.
Apart from banning flavored tobacco products, among other things the American regulation additionally gives life to a tobacco control center within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), restricts tobacco sales to face-to-face retail transactions, and introduces stringent packaging rules (e.g., health hazard warnings must cover 50% of the front and back of the box).
Although ‘Big Tobacco’ in the United States has famously opposed efforts to regulate the industry, menthol cigarette manufacturers such as Philip Morris have indicated strong support for this particular Act, perhaps in support of Indonesia’s position that it eliminates potential competition by raising international trade barriers.
Though the ban on certain tobacco products for health reasons may remain a fixture of American law, the Indonesian-perceived double standard of permitting menthol-flavored cigarettes but prohibiting others will certainly be contested as resolution procedures begin at the WTO DSB.
This Indonesian Legal Brief is based upon research conducted by the hukumonline team.
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