US—Measures Affecting the Production and Sale of Clove Cigarettes
World Trade Organization
WT/DS406/R (2 September 2011), WT/DS406/AB/R (4 April 2012)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
The United States government (defendant) enacted legislation that banned clove cigarettes, most of which were imported from Indonesia (plaintiff). The same ban did not apply to menthol cigarettes, which were primarily made by companies within the United States. Indonesia brought a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that the ban violated the international Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the TBT Agreement). The United States argued that the ban focused on clove cigarettes because they were smoked primarily by young people, whereas menthol cigarettes were smoked by a wider range of age groups. A WTO dispute-resolution panel considered the health objective of deterring smoking among young people but concluded that the law’s differentiation between clove and menthol cigarettes failed to serve that objective. The panel thus concluded that the clove ban violated the TBT Agreement. The United States appealed to the WTO Appellate Body.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
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