Russia violates the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to the import substitution program. This was announced on December 21 by the United States Trade Representative Catherine Tai, her statement was published on the agency’s website.
According to Tai, her office’s report examined the Russian Federation’s “ongoing departure” from key WTO principles, in particular fair competition, predictability, and transparency.
Washington is concerned about Moscow’s actions aimed at localizing production. According to Tai, the steps of the Russian Federation are aimed at providing benefits to both domestically produced goods and services. The Russian government is allegedly “expanding control over the economy,” stressed in the office of the American trade representative.
At the same time, Russia also maintains restrictions on the import of agricultural products, and these restrictions are not related to science, says Tai.
She believes that this creates unfavorable conditions for the functioning of American companies and the work of US citizens.
At the same time, the department added that cooperation with partner countries will continue. Catherine Tai’s office has promised to hold Moscow “accountable” for its behavior in the multilateral trading system.
Washington “considers this path to be counterproductive – both for Russia, the Russian people, and for the world economy,” Tye concluded.
In response, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that if anyone violated the WTO rules, it was the United States of America and the EU, which introduced their unilateral anti-Russian sanctions.
The Russian Federation has expanded its import substitution programs since 2015 amid EU and US sanctions. 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 these programs.