A World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel convened to hear a legal challenge to Australia’s tobacco plain-packaging law said it will be at least the first half of 2016 before a ruling is issued, Reuters reported.

Australia in 2012 was the first country to decree uniform packaging and branding for cigarettes and RYO. Other countries have delayed action until the WTO rules on complaints by Indonesia, Cuba, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Ukraine that plain packaging represents an illegal restriction on trade.
Trade disputes normally are ruled on within six months of filing, however a bottleneck of cases has caused delays, Reuters said.