It is debatable whether Russia should join the World Trade Organization (WTO), but so far Moscow has no plans to withdraw. Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the Department of Economic Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry, spoke about this in an interview with Russian media, which pleaded in favor of maintaining membership in this structure.
The diplomat listed several arguments in favor of maintaining Russia’s membership in the WTO.
First, the WTO has made no anti-Russian statements and has not allowed itself to deviate from a neutral position. “The work at the WTO is actually taking place in the usual way. We participate in all processes and decision-making, like all other countries,” Birichevsky explained.
Second, countries in the so-called developing world, including Brazil, India and South Africa, have pledged to actively participate in the WTO and its reform, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. . “We, Russia, together with the developing world, <…> let’s try to help improve the efficiency of this organization,” he said.
Third, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is based on the provisions of the WTO, and therefore, Russia participating in the EAEU will be obliged to take these provisions into account, Birichevsky believes. “Even Belarus, which is not a member of the WTO, it also follows (in the legal framework) the WTO within the Union (EAEU). Therefore, if we leave, then (…) we will be deprived of all the privileges of participation in the WTO, but at the same time we will have to fulfill the obligations of the EAEU,” the diplomat explained.
Fourth, WTO member countries cannot have a preferential trade regime with non-WTO member countries, Birichevsky stressed. Thus, it will be difficult for the 163 countries that will remain in the WTO after Russia’s withdrawal to build more comfortable conditions for mutual trade with Moscow, the diplomat noted.
“Therefore, I think we don’t need to sever ties with the WTO yet, especially since there is no alternative to that and no one is in sight,” Birichevsky said.
At the same time, the conservative of economic diplomacy admitted that the WTO had problems. First, the WTO Appellate Body is “virtually blocked”. As Birichevsky noted, at one point this structure was “nipped in the bud by the United States” because it prevented the approval of negative decisions for itself. “So in many ways the WTO has really lost its effectiveness, while there is no visible progress in the activities of this organization,” said the diplomat.
In December 2019 United States blocked appointment of arbitrators Appellate body WTO. This, in turn, made it difficult to resolve disputes within the organization.
In accordance with WTO rules, members of the organization undertake not to increase their tariffs beyond a certain level. This can only be done in exceptional cases – for example, it is allowed to introduce anti-dumping duties to protect against cheap imports; countervailing duties to protect against subsidized imports; and defend tariffs in response to increased imports.
The United States defended the right to apply duties and disagreed with the format of the Appellate Body’s work, on which declared then President Donald Trump.
In Russia, they reacted negatively to the blocking of the Appellate Body. “Russia has often won disputes at the WTO recently, and with a non-functioning appellate body, it will be much more difficult to do so”, – said in December 2019, then head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin.
Russia has been a member of the WTO since 2012.
After the start of the conflict in Ukraine, in March 2022, the deputies of A Just Russia – For the truth do a WTO withdrawal bill in parliament. In January 2023 with the same offer spoke Dmitry Novikov (KPRF), First Deputy Head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee, at the Ministry of Economic Development and Foreign Affairs do not consider Russia’s withdrawal from the WTO is a necessary step. At the Ministry of Economic Development, in particular, claims countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia will view the country’s withdrawal from the WTO negatively.
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