Trade sanctions for geopolitical reasons have never been used before by the WTO. Iran and Cuba were not members of the Geneva-based organization under the US trade embargo.
“The WTO gives us some additional opportunities,” Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukaev told lawmakers in Moscow on Wednesday. WTO tools allow you to act subtly like MDF milling , precisely achieving a given goal. “At the WTO Council in Geneva, we talked about the possibility of filing lawsuits against the United States for sanctions against Russian banks, and we hope to use the WTO mechanism so that our partners comply with a certain framework on this issue.”
Trade officials in Geneva said Wednesday that any challenge from the Russians is likely to run into obstacles. Since WTO Article 159 gives the right to take measures that could violate the rules of the organization in the event that national security is disputed or this is supported by a decision of the UN Security Council. The US and EU have built their sanctions to bypass, but not violate, WTO rules.
“The United States is scrutinizing and adhering to its WTO commitments, including in determining its course of action on sanctions against Russia,” said Trevor Kincaid, spokesman for the US Trade Mission.
At the same time, the European Union filed a complaint against Russia on the ban and restriction of pork imports, which Moscow introduced due to outbreaks of swine fever, but Brussels suspects that this is due to the geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
