WTO Declines to Find Australia’s Tobacco Product Packaging Restrictions Inconsistent with Trade Rules Last week, a WTO dispute settlement panel ruled that Australia’s plain packaging rules for tobacco products do not violate WTO rules. In April 2012, Honduras requested consultations with Australia at the WTO over Australia’s 2011 law banning logos, trademarks, and other distinctive packaging for tobacco products in favor of uniform-color packages with health-related warnings and images across the front of the packages and brand names printed in small, standardized fonts. Honduras challenged the law under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the ... [Read more]