More on this when the official minutes are released, but this is from the WTO web site summary of the latest TBT Committee meeting:
Brazil has introduced a new draft regulation establishing the maximum permissible levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in tobacco products, and prohibiting the use of all additives in these products (G/TBT/N/BRA/407 — notified to the WTO on 29 November 2010).
Producers and exporters of Burley and Oriental varieties of tobacco perceive the ban on additives to be a de facto prohibition on 'blended' tobacco products (conventionally produced by blending these varieties of tobacco with a number of additives) in the Brazilian market. About 15 members said that this regulation was more trade restrictive than necessary to achieve Brazil's objective. This was particularly important for some countries, including African and least-developed countries (Zambia, Tanzania, Dominican Republic, Mozambique, Kenya), which depend on the sale of Burley and Oriental tobacco for national revenue.
Most members argued that Brazil gave insufficient scientific evidence justifying that additives made tobacco products more dangerous to health, or more attractive to consumers, especially young ones.
I've been surprised at how much talk about tobacco regulation there has been at the TBT Committee. It will be interesting to see what impact the Clove Cigarettes DS panel (and possibly AB) decision has on these dicussions. The panel report should be out some time this year.
