煙草在線據(jù)雅虎金融報道編譯　　12月17日，多米尼加共和國要求世界貿(mào)易組織(WTO)爭端解決機構(gòu)設(shè)立一個WTO專家組，來評估澳大利亞煙草產(chǎn)品平裝措施的WTO一致性，該措施于2012年12月1日在澳大利亞生效。澳大利亞最初阻止設(shè)立WTO專家組，但不能阻止多米尼加根據(jù)WTO規(guī)則提起第二次請求。

　　平裝極大地干涉了商標(biāo)，并限制了國際貿(mào)易。多米尼加共和國的大使路易斯·曼尼·皮安提尼對WTO解釋說：

　　“我們對我們的煙草產(chǎn)品，特別是我們高質(zhì)量的煙草產(chǎn)品并深受世界各地數(shù)以百萬計的鑒賞家欣賞的雪茄，深感自豪。我們努力發(fā)展一個為世界領(lǐng)袖的產(chǎn)業(yè)，并且不希望看到它被破壞公共衛(wèi)生工作的投機策略所破壞。我們將為使世貿(mào)組織的規(guī)則公正、客觀地應(yīng)用到我們經(jīng)濟發(fā)展中而斗爭。”

　　“多米尼加共和國和澳大利亞有著共同的公共衛(wèi)生目標(biāo)，但是平裝不能有效地實現(xiàn)這些目標(biāo)。它的作用僅僅是煙草市場商品化，價格下降，結(jié)果是增加煙草的消費和非法貿(mào)易。”

　　多米尼加煙草行業(yè)

　　雖然煙草已在多米尼加共和國種植超過5個世紀(jì)了，但是多米尼加煙草業(yè)僅僅百歲。煙草出口收入占到了出口總額的5%。煙草產(chǎn)品占到了財政收入中商品征稅的8.5%。大約有5500名煙草生產(chǎn)商，雇傭了大約4.5萬名農(nóng)業(yè)工人。據(jù)多米尼加煙草研究所發(fā)布的信息稱，結(jié)合整個煙草生產(chǎn)鏈，該行業(yè)能提供大約11.8萬個直接的就業(yè)崗位，支持大約35萬人的生計。多米尼加共和國是世界上最大的雪茄出口國。

Dominican Republic Requests the Establishment of World Trade Organization Panel Over Australian Plain Packaging

　　Today, the Dominican Republic requested that the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) establish a WTO panel to assess the WTO consistency of Australia's plain packaging measures for tobacco products, which came into effect in Australia on 1 December 2012. Australia initially blocked the establishment of the WTO panel but cannot block the Dominican Republic's second request as per WTO rules.

　　Plain packaging represents a dramatic interference with trademarks, and a restriction on international trade. Luis Manual Piantini, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the WTO explains:

　　"We are proud of our tobacco products and especially our cigars which are among the highest-quality smoking products and appreciated by millions of connoisseurs around the world. We have strived to develop an industry that is a world leader, and do not wish to see it undermined by speculative measures that will work to undermine public health. We will fight to have the WTO rules applied fairly and objectively to our developing economy."

　　"The Dominican Republic shares Australia's public health goals but plain packaging will not be effective in achieving those goals. Its effect will simply be to commoditize the tobacco market, with declining prices, and increased consumption of tobacco and illicit trade as a result."

　　About the Dominican tobacco industry

　　While tobacco has been cultivated in the Dominican Republic for more than five centuries, the Dominican tobacco industry is a hundred years old. Tobacco export revenues represent 5% of total exports. Tobacco products represent 8.5% of fiscal revenue on merchandise taxation. There are around 5,500 tobacco producers, employing approximately 45,000 agricultural workers. Combined with the entire tobacco production chain, the industry generates around direct 118,000 jobs which supports approximately 350,000 people, according to information published by the Tobacco Institute of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is the largest exporter of cigars in the world. Enditem