FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill Violates Treaty, Indonesia Says

Indonesia is protesting that the bill to subject the tobacco industry to FDA regulation would violate an international trade treaty. The Jakarta Post reports that the Indonesian government objects to the fact that the bill bans clove cigarettes, which Indonesia produces, while permitting menthol cigarettes. It says that the differential treatment is discriminatory and not justified by health concerns, and thus violates the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Safeguards. More discussion of the FDA tobacco regulation bill can be found here, here, and here.