烟草在线据《悉尼早间先驱报》报道编译　　在乌克兰这个欧洲国家在日内瓦的世界贸易组织对澳大利亚卷烟平装法规展开的第一轮攻击中，澳大利亚对乌克兰采取了强硬措施。

　　9月1日，乌克兰请求世界贸易组织建立一个小组，为“关于适用于烟草产品的商标和其他平装要求措施”的争议举行听证。

　　乌克兰与澳大利亚几乎没有卷烟贸易，但它是聘用着1400名工人的菲莫国际公司一家子公司的所在地。企业不能以自己的名义向世界贸易组织提出上诉。

　　乌克兰的声明说，澳大利亚要求所有卷烟都必须以平装出售的法律，“与其说是为达到规定的健康目标而必须的，不如说是一种贸易限制，造成了对贸易不必要的障碍。”

　　澳大利亚没有同意像不太严重的争议中的习惯做法那样，建立一个争端解决小组，相反，它拒绝了这个请求，称它的平装法律是一个“旨在达到一个合法目标——保护公众健康的合理、且经过深思熟虑的措施”。

　　澳大利亚拒绝建立小组的请求是一种象征性的措施，而不是实际的措施。乌克兰将必须在世界贸易组织于下一次在9月28日举行的会议上第二次请求设立听证小组。澳大利亚将无法第二次拒绝这个请求。

　　这项争端将需要几个月的时间进行听证，在这段时间里，澳大利亚可以继续要求从12月1日开始实行卷烟平装。

　　如果听证小组的裁决不利于澳大利亚，而澳大利亚仍继续实施这项法律，世界贸易组织将有权实施贸易制裁。澳大利亚正避开在英美烟草公司的澳洲控股公司总部的迁入地——香港提起的第二宗诉讼。

Australia Challenges Ukraine on Tobacco

　　AUSTRALIA has taken a hard line with Ukraine in the first round of the European country's assault on Australia's plain cigarette packaging rules at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva.

　　On Saturday, Ukraine asked the WTO set up a panel to hear a dispute on "measures concerning trademarks and other plain packaging requirements applicable to the tobacco products".

　　Ukraine has next to no cigarette trade with Australia but it is the site of a Philip Morris International subsidiary that employs 1400 workers. Corporations cannot make an appeal to the WTO in their own name.

　　Ukraine's statement says Australia's law requiring that all cigarettes must be sold in plain packets is "more trade restrictive than necessary to achieve the stated health objectives and constitutes an unnecessary obstacle to trade".

　　Rather than agreeing to the establishment of a disputes resolution panel, as is customary in less serious disputes, Australia rejected the request, arguing the law was "a sound, well-considered measure designated to achieve a legitimate objective, the protection of public health".

　　Australia's rejection of the request for a panel is a symbolic, rather than a practical, measure. Ukraine will have to ask for a second time at the next WTO meeting on September 28. Australia would be unable to reject a second request.

　　The dispute would take some months to hear, during which time Australia could continue to require plain cigarette packets from December 1.

　　If the panel finds against Australia, the WTO will have the right to impose trade sanctions, should Australia continue to enforce the law. Australia is fending off a second challenge in Hong Kong, where British American Tobacco has relocated its Australian holding company's headquarters. Enditem