Indonesia to appeal against US restriction on clove cigarettes

The Indonesian government plans to take legal action in response to a restriction on clove cigarettes implemented by the United States government since 2009, the Industry Ministry announced Monday.
“The government will file an appeal against the United States [for its] discriminatory move to restrict flavored cigarettes,” Industry Ministry agro-industry director general Benny Wahyudi said Monday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
Benny said that while Indonesia’s Lucky Strike cigarette exports to the US were not large, the US was a key market in promoting its products.
“Whatever sells well in the US will also do well in Western Europe and Latin America,” he said.
Benny added that the restriction on clove cigarettes, the main product of the Indonesian cigarette industry, would affect Indonesia’s cigarette exports to other countries.
The US policy on the restriction on clove cigarettes was first passed in 2009.