Six US business groups warned the New Zealand government against adopting plain packaging for tobacco products, saying adoption may harm future exports, an online news site reported.

"We see this as a systemic threat to rules which intellectual property rights and the trading system, with their nexus to regulation, are dependent upon," the groups said in a joint statement reported by Stuff.co.nz.
"We encourage the New Zealand Government to consider the concerns we have raised for the possible impact on New Zealand exports, such as dairy and wine, should other governments feel emboldened to take similar unwarranted measures", the statement said.
The groups, including National Association of Manufacturers, National Foreign Trade Council, US-ASEAN Business Council, and the US Chamber of Commerce.
The New Zealand parliament is expected to pass plain packaging legislation later this week, but will await the outcome of legal battles in Australia before implementing the law.