JAKARTA. The Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association (APTI) appreciated the stance of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who criticized the implementation of plain packaging. They hope, France will cancel the plan. 

“We welcome the statement made by Sarkozy, who has listened to the aspirations of tobacco farmers in Indonesia,” said APTI Chairman Soeseno, in the press release recieved by KONTAN, Wednesday (24/2). 

Soeseno said that implementation of the plain packaging policy for cigarettes will result in retaliation from tobacco exporting countries. Such as, imposing the neutral wine bottle, one of the France's leading products.  

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Early in February, Sarkozy warned against plain packaging for cigarettes. France narrowly passed the law to introduce plain packaging. "If we accept the neutral cigarette packet, in six months, you will be offered a neutral bottle of wine," hi said in a meeting on agriculture and rural France, cited by France's Le JDD. 

APTI said, with approximately 2 million tobacco farmers and workers as members, this group supports the Indonesian government's statement that the plain packaging policy is a violation of International Trade Agreements as stipulated by the World Trade Organization (WTO), especially the Agreement on Technical Barriers and Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

Soeseno also hopes that ASEAN member countries will implement retaliatory policies against countries implementing the plain packaging policy.