The lengthy and long-awaited WTO Panel Reports in Australia–Tobacco Plain Packaging contain a host of material for reflection, particularly in relation to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. While two of the Panel Reports proceed to appeal, we consider with respect to the two adopted Panel Reports the Panel's reasoning in relation to Article 2.2 of the TBT, focusing on the meaning of trade-restrictiveness. This concept central to WTO law has been under-examined to date, and these Panel Reports demonstrate some of the complexities in identifying trade-restrictive measures, particularly where they are non-discriminatory. The Panel found that Australia's measures restrict trade because they contribute to their objective of reducing tobacco consumption. Therefore, any equally effective alternative will similarly restrict trade. This curious result under TBT Article 2.2 may be particular to non-discriminatory measures that target ‘socially bad’ products such as tobacco.

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标准化包装对贸易的限制程度如何？WTO 专家组报告对澳大利亚烟草平装包装的经济和法律影响

期待已久的世贸组织专家组报告澳大利亚-烟草平装包含大量可供反思的材料，特别是与《技术性贸易壁垒协议》（TBT）和《与贸易有关的知识产权协议》有关的材料。虽然有两份专家组报告继续上诉，但我们认为，就两份通过的专家组报告而言，专家组对 TBT 第 2.2 条的推理侧重于贸易限制的含义。迄今为止，WTO 法律的核心概念一直未被充分研究，而这些专家组报告显示了确定贸易限制措施的一些复杂性，特别是在它们是非歧视性的情况下。专家小组发现，澳大利亚的措施限制了贸易，因为它们有助于实现减少烟草消费的目标。因此，任何同样有效的替代方案都会同样限制贸易。