烟草在线据InterAksyon报道编译　　尽管泰国延期执行世界贸易组织做出的认定曼谷对进口卷烟的征税具有歧视性的裁决，但菲律宾决定放泰国一马。

　　1月20日，菲律宾贸易大臣Gregory L. Domingo对记者说，尽管泰国未能遵守世界贸易组织的裁决，但菲律宾不准备再把泰国诉上仲裁法庭。

　　他说：“这只是讨论中的一个选择，但它并不是你在开始阶段就做的事情。”

　　在曼谷决定对菲莫国际泰国公司在2003年至2007年间，没有足额申报进口产品的海关价值，违反了世界贸易组织的裁决而提起诉讼之后，Gregory L. Domingo发表了以上讲话。

　　回忆一下事件的发展，世界贸易组织在2011年作出裁决，认定曼谷对菲莫公司菲律宾子公司的出口烟草的征税具有歧视性，违反了全球贸易法则。

　　自世界贸易组织做出不利泰国的裁决之后，泰国批准了一项皇家法令，废除了泰国产卷烟的转销商享受的增值税豁免权，使得这些产品与不享有增值税豁免的进口产品平价。

　　不过，菲律宾世贸代表团说，泰国海关上诉委员会对2002年至2003年期间的进口烟草的某些海关评估条目的裁定与世界贸易组织的规则“不一致”。

　　尽管菲律宾和泰国贸易官员于去年5月在曼谷举行了非正式磋商，但菲律宾贸易工业部后来坚持认为，泰国在遵守世贸裁决上还是拖拉，不够合作。

　　去年年底，菲律宾贸易部副部长小Adrian Cristobal说，菲律宾已经要求泰国对关于它未遵守世贸裁决的一些问题做出回应。

　　Adrian Cristobal说，如果菲律宾认定泰国的回应为不遵守裁决，则马尼拉就会将曼谷带入导致赔偿的遵守裁决诉讼。

　　据世界贸易组织规定，当“执行方到合理期限结束时仍未能取得被执行方全面执行裁决，”则执行方可以获得赔偿。

　　在泰国这个案例中，遵守世界贸易组织裁决的合理期限在2012年10月失效。

　　世界贸易组织说，赔偿“并不意味着就是给付金钱，而是仲裁被诉人要提供一种等于它因实施自己的做法而造成损失或丧失的同等利益，例如降低关税等。”

PH Cutting Thailand Some Slack Despite Delayed Compliance with WTO Tobacco Ruling

　　The Philippines is cutting Thailand some slack amid its delayed compliance with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that found Bangkok's taxes on cigarette imports to be discriminatory.

　　Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo on Monday told reporters that the Philippines is not about to bring Thailand back to arbitration despite its failure to comply with the WTO ruling.

　　"That is an option on the table but that is not something that you do at the start. Marami pa tayong interests sa kanila," he said.

　　Domingo's statement comes after Bangkok decided to prosecute Philip Morris International Thailand for allegedly under-declaring the customs value of imports between 2003 to 2007 in violation of the WTO ruling.

　　To recall, the WTO in 2011 ruled that Bangkok's taxes on tobacco exports of Philip Morris' Philippine unit were discriminatory and so violated global trading rules.

　　Since the WTO ruled against it, Thailand has adopted a royal decree abolishing the value-added tax (VAT) exemption enjoyed by resellers of locally made cigarettes, making them at par with imports, which were not VAT-exempt.

　　The Philippine WTO mission however said the Thai Customs' Board of Appeals ruling on certain customs valuation entries of imported tobacco from 2002 to 2003 were "inconsistent" with WTO rules.

　　Despite informal consultations between Philippine and Thai trade officials held in Bangkok in May of last year, DTI two months later insisted that Thailand was dragging its feet on compliance.

　　Late last year, Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said the Philippines had asked Thailand to respond to a number of questions pertaining to its non-compliance with the WTO ruling.

　　If the Philippines deems Thailand's response as noncompliant, Manila would drag Bangkok into compliance proceedings leading to compensation, Cristobal had said.

　　Compensation may be obtained when an "implementing member does not achieve full compliance by the end of the reasonable period of time" to comply, according to the WTO.

　　In the case of Thailand, the reasonable period of time to comply with the WTO ruling lapsed in October of 2012.

　　Compensation "does not mean monetary payment; rather, the respondent is supposed to offer a benefit, for example a tariff reduction, which is equivalent to the benefit which the respondent has nullified or impaired by applying its measure," the WTO said. Enditem