Russian MPs present bill for Russia to leave the WTO

Moscow, 21 Mar The Social Democratic Party Just Russia submitted a bill to the Duma or Chamber of Deputies on Monday to leave the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to the economic sanctions imposed on Moscow for its “special military operation” in Ukraine. In order to defend “national interests”, the deputies propose denouncing the protocol to the Marrakesh Agreement signed in 2011 and also the parliamentary ratification in 2012. “Joining the WTO was politically motivated. There were few economic benefits,” commented one of the authors of the initiative, Alexei Chepa, vice-chairman of the Duma International Affairs Committee. The deputy considered that under conditions of international sanctions, the exit from the WTO will allow Moscow to lower tariffs and prices, and support domestic producers, something that is restricted by that organization. “We must leave this organization immediately!” , Chepa insisted. Russia was the last major global economy to join the WTO, where it entered on August 22, 2012 after nearly two decades of arduous negotiations. Last week, the US Lower House passed a bill to withdraw Russia from the status of a most-favored trading nation, opening the door to the imposition of tariffs on Russian products. The status of “most-favoured-nation” exists to prevent the 164 countries that make up the WTO from discriminating against each other, so if a country is granted a special advantage, the same should generally be done with all other members of the organization. Russia was expelled from the G8, the eight most developed economies, following the annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in March 2014. The Central Bank of Russia predicted a fall in gross domestic product in the coming months due to sanctions, while inflation already exceeds 12.5%. mo/pddp