煙草在線據《煙業通訊》報道編譯　　Melissa Lipman在Law360上撰文稱，美國已經對WTO做出的該國禁止丁香煙違反了國際貿易規則，對主要為國內生產的薄荷煙有利，而對主要從印尼進口的丁香煙不利的裁決，提起了上訴。

　　在它的上訴訴狀中，美國表示，專家小組做出的丁香煙和薄荷煙是類似產品，以及裁決美國法律對進口卷煙不利而對國產的類似卷煙有利的裁決都是錯誤的。

　　特別是，該訴狀稱，專家小組不適當地裁決，在根據國際貿易協會權衡兩個產品是否是“相似”產品時，它不需要考慮目前消費者的“口味和習慣”。

　　盡管對于專家小組做出的這些管理是不必要的，因為它符合減少青少年吸煙的法律目標的結論，美國感到高興，但是它表示這兩個結果是“很難統一的。”

　　據美國稱，這個問題是應當允許以不同于“基本上為初學吸煙者專用”的丁香煙的方法，來管理數百萬名成年人上癮的薄荷煙。

US appeals against WTO kretek ruling

Tobacco Reporter
Jan 10, 2012

　　The US has appealed against a World Trade Organization decision that the country's ban on clove cigarettes violated international trade rules by favoring mainly domestically produced menthol-flavored cigarettes over kreteks imported largely from Indonesia, according to a story by Melissa Lipman for Law360.

　　In its appeals brief, the US argued that the panel erred both in concluding that clove and menthol cigarettes were like products and in ruling that US laws treated the imports less favorably than similar cigarettes made domestically.

　　In particular, the brief said, the panel had improperly concluded that it didn't have to consider the "tastes and habits" of current consumers in weighing whether the two items were "like" products under international trade agreements.

　　While the US applauded the panel's conclusion that the regulation was not unnecessary because it was in the service of the legitimate goal of reducing youth smoking, it argued that the two findings were "difficult to reconcile".

　　The problem, according to the US, was that it should be allowed to regulate menthol cigarettes, a product to which millions of adults were addicted, differently to the way in which it dealt with clove cigarettes, which were "used almost exclusively by novice smokers".