Dominican tobacco exports at US$717M; Australia row continues

Santo Domingo.- The Industry and Commerce Ministry’s ForeignTrade and Agreements Dept. (DICOEX ono Monday said Dominican Republic exported US$717million worth of tobacco products in 2015, a figure it affirms has been rising since2010, according to DICOEX director Katrina Naut.

She also announced that the Dominican Republic, joined by Honduras,Cuba and Indonesia are requesting that the WTO turn down Australia’s plain packagingrules for tobacco products.

Naut said Australia argues that plain packaging aims to cutback on the use of tobacco by reducing the appeal of those products, increasinggraphic health warnings and reduce its "deceptive" capacity against consumerson its harmful effects.

The official notes however that plain packaging is a hurdleto registry, compliance, and trademarks. "The implementation of plainpackaging is not a determining factor for achieving desired goals, in factAustralia’s own data show that plain packaging doesn’t change attitudes orbehavior, and leads to cheaper products instead."