“We welcome the statement made by Mr. Sarkozy, who has listened to the aspirations of tobacco farmers in Indonesia who vehemently oppose the plan to implement the plain packaging policy in any country, including France,†said APTI Chairman Soeseno, in Jakarta over the weekend.
Early in February 2016, Sarkozy threw his support behind the tobacconists with a criticism of plain cigarette packs. "Should we agree to plain packs, in six months' time they'll be coming back with the plain wine bottle," he claimed. "And that will be the end of our appellations and our terroirs and after that it will be plain packs for cheese, too! We've already had the "normal" President . This is the decisive battle for our terroirs. If we give way here, we give way all along the line," hesaid.
Soeseno assessed the implementation of the plain packaging policy for cigarettes will result in retaliation from countries exporting tobacco products, involving France's leading products such as wine, as this the country's best known export market product. In 2014 France exported wine worth a total of 9.3 billion US dollars.
“The plain packaging policy is a form of discrimination against tobacco products, one of Indonesia's strategic commodities. This will weaken the competitiveness of Indonesian tobacco products in countries implementing the regulation, as well as result in a decline in demand for tobacco raw materials from the farmers who meet the demand of both the domestic and export markets,†he explained.
With approximately 2 million tobacco farmers and workers as members, the APTI supports the Indonesian government's statement that the plain packaging policy is a violation of International Trade Agreements as stipulated by the World Trade Organization (WTO), especially the Agreement on Technical Barriers and Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
Soeseno also hopes that Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) member countries will implement retaliatory policies against countries implementing the plain packaging policy.
Separately, Directorate-General of Agro Industry at the Ministry of Industry, Panggah Susanto, said the institution will consider a plain packaging policy for alcoholic beverages such as French wine in response to the French government's action of implementing the plain packaging regulation for Indonesian cigarettes.
“We are currently considering creating a regulation stipulating plain packaging for French and Australian wine. Cigarettes and tobacco are not merely a health issue, but have become industries, and even priorities,†said Panggah to media.
Similar to Panggah, Director-General of International Trade at Ministry of Trade, Bachrul Chairi, added that the Indonesian government has the right to apply the plain packaging policy to French wine products for violating the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement.
“We may also apply similar measures to other products from other countries. We welcome the WTO panel hearing to be held this year and are optimistic we willwin,â€he said to media.
Plain packaging is currently being considered by a number of countries such as France, Ireland and New Zealand and even Singapore and Thailand. However,Australia was the first country to implement the plain packaging policy in 2012.
In 2013, Indonesia, alongside Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, contested the
Australian policy at the WTO. The WTO panel of judges is scheduled to announce its verdict in mid of 2016.
Reporter: PR Wire
Editor: PR Wire
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