The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released on Tuesday, December 21, a report that referred to alleged violations by Russia of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“This report provides an overview of Russia’s continuing move away from WTO guiding principles such as non-discriminatory practices, more open trade, predictability, transparency and fair competition,” said US Trade Representative Catherine Tai.
In particular, the department reproached the Russian Federation for allegedly expanding state control over the economy.
The United States authorities also expressed concern that “Russia continues to adopt and implement localization measures to provide benefits to both domestically produced goods and services.”
“In the agricultural sector, Russia maintains import restrictions that are not related to science and refuses to recognize guarantees from other countries regarding export capacities,” the document says.
According to the report, violation of WTO rules and regulations, as well as obligations to the organization, puts American workers and entrepreneurs in an economically disadvantageous environment and deprives them of the possibility of fair competition.
The office of the American trade representative stressed that the department will work with like-minded partners and use WTO tools to “hold Russia accountable for its behavior in the multilateral trading system.”
“The United States considers this path to be counterproductive – both for Russia, the Russian people, and for the world economy. The United States will continue to urge Russia to abide by the letter and spirit of the WTO. However, in the end, Russia and the Russians must make this decision, ”concluded the authors of the report.
Prior to this, on November 19, it was reported that the European Union (EU) was challenging several Russian measures taken as part of the import substitution program. The EU has issued a formal request to form an arbitration panel to deal with a public procurement dispute with Russia, as bilateral consultations held on September 13 did not resolve the issue.
Russia is said to have “adopted a series of measures as part of a broader import substitution program aimed at substituting through a set of restrictions and incentives for imported goods and services provided by foreign entities and local goods and services provided by Russian entities.” At the same time, it seems to the EU, the goods and services offered by Russian enterprises get preference in the course of auctions and tenders.
On July 26, the European Union filed a claim with the WTO against Russia in connection with measures that, according to the alliance, prohibit its companies from selling goods to Russian state-owned enterprises. At the same time, it was not specified what goods were in question.
A week earlier, the EU requested WTO consultations on support measures provided by the Russian government in relation to manufacturers when organizing purchases of companies with state participation.
The Russian Federation has expanded its import substitution programs since 2015. In June, during a direct line, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country’s economic sovereignty was increasing, despite Western sanctions, restrictions only strengthened import substitution programs.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
