TOBACCO: REGULATION Sustain momentum on ITP challenge, tobacco told
Duty free tobacco is being instructed to continue crucial industry dialogue following the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (MOP1). Luke Barras-Hill provides an update.
T
he industry reacted positively when the first session of the Meeting of the Parties to
the Protocol (MOP1), part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), agreed in October to delay evidence-based research ‘into the extent to which duty free contributes to the illicit trade of tobacco products’. At the meeting in Geneva, the 48
ratifying countries said the WHO should produce a ‘roadmap’ on the duty free issue in November 2020. A small victory it may have been, but the category is being urged not to rest on its laurels. When TRBusiness
spoke to
European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) Senior Counsel Keith Spinks this month, he confirms the message on the WHO Illicit Trade Protocol (ITP), which formally entered into force in September, stays the same. “The goal at the moment is to
maintain the awareness and interest of all stakeholders from the duty free industry, continuing on from the work on ITP they’ve undertaken on MOP1 leading up to MOP2 and to review very carefully what is being tabled by the Secretariat in terms of the study. If that is not carried out independently and thoroughly, as we believe, we need to go further.
‘Roadmap’ grey area “There isn’t a lot of time. We have to maintain the level of interest with the governments and administrations supportive of delaying the research. Our belief is that when they bring forward the research in a few years’ time, it will need to be viewed and looked at closely. “The problem that we have is
the WHO FCTC team have not been willing to engage with the industry in the past. Our insistence is it [the research study] must include industry participation.” Accordingly, the wording of the so- called ‘roadmap’ into the duty free
FEBRUARY 2019
question seems to be a grey area. “A roadmap usually identifies the
objective, sets out the parameters, initiates a timeline, explains how they will collect the information to undertake the research…we do not have clarity on that,” Spinks tells TRBusiness. “We believe it may well be a desk
exercise undertaken by a research company. We could get compared to free trade zones, duty not-paid movement of goods, plus of course counterfeit products marked for ‘duty free’ that are smuggled.”
Track and trace education At present, one of the main objectives occupying the ETRC and Duty Free World Council is increasing understanding – across all trade channels – on track and trace, part of a number of protocol elements covering licensing and duty free. Ratifying countries are mandated
to introduce a track and trace regime within five years of the protocol’s entry. “We want a harmonised track
and trace regime for duty free […] so people understand the unique nature of the channel and how the supply chain works,” stresses Spinks. Ultimately,
the industry’s
associations will be pushing for a further postponement to the research while reiterating an important message; the provisions
mandated by the protocol with regards to track and trace should be fully in effect before the research study into duty free is commissioned. The industry believes it is illogical
to begin research within the five-year timeframe before track and trace is in place. Once the systems are
implemented, the industry is confident it will be able to clearly show that duty free is not a source of illicit trade when the research is undertaken. The ETRC recently held its first
workshop on track and trace with retailers in Dubai in collaboration with MEADFA and similar activities are planned with ACI Africa at its event in Luxor and at the Summit of the Americas in March, plus with TFWA at the Asia Pacific show in May. Moving forward, the priority is
to strengthen dialogue with the industry and its regional and national trade associations, governments, regulatory authorities and new signatory countries to the protocol. «
“The goal at the moment is to maintain the awareness and interest of all stakeholders from the duty free industry, continuing on from the work on ITP they’ve undertaken on MOP1.”
Keith Spinks, Senior Counsel, ETRC TRBUSINESS 43
Above: Keith Spinks, Senior Counsel, ETRC.
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