Philip Morris International (PMI) said a World Bank arbitration panel will hear its complaint against the Uruguayan government for violating an international trade agreement by imposing “extreme and unnecessary restrictions” on its products.

Two Uruguayan regulations imposed on cigarettes in 2009 form the basis for the PMI complaint. Increasing warnings on cigarette packs to 80 per cent leaves virtually no space to brand and restricting sale of a cigarette brand to one variant unfairly restricts the right to market multiple versions, PMI said in a statement.
Uruguayan government regulation violates multiple provisions of the Bilateral Investment Treaty with Switzerland, PMI said. PMI’s operations centre is in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Uruguay unsuccessfully sought to block the complaint moving forward on jurisdictional grounds, according to PMI. Consultations on the merits of the case will be followed by a hearing towards the end of 2014 or early 2015, the cigarette maker said. A decision can be expected in two or three years.