Philippines' retaliation in Thai tobacco tiff stalled by frozen WTO

Manila trade official calls foul; readies to target auto imports from Thailand

20200302 Philippines Thailand tobacco RTX3C6Y8.jpg

A pack of Philippine-made cigarettes sits on a store shelf in Manila. The Philippines is Thailand's second-largest tobacco supplier. © Reuters

CLIFF VENZON, Nikkei staff writer

March 2, 2020 17:34 JST

MANILA -- The Philippines is prodding the World Trade Organization to let it retaliate against Thailand over a decadelong tobacco customs dispute, as simmering trade tensions between the two nations start to boil over.

Citing an appeal lodged at the WTO's currently nonfunctional Appellate Body, Bangkok blocked Manila's bid to put retaliation on the agenda of the WTO Dispute Settlement Board for its Feb. 28 meeting in Geneva.