Russian government rejects MP's suggestion of withdrawing from WTO

A group of Russian members of parliament has submitted a draft law to the State Duma proposing to withdraw the country from the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

According to Russian media outlet TASS the document was pinned by members of the "A Just Russia - for Truth" political faction, which is led by Sergey Mironov, Caliber.Az reports.

The explanatory note to the bill states that since 2014, the benefits of Russia's WTO membership have diminished “against the backdrop of a general deterioration in bilateral relations with the European Union, the United States, and a number of other countries engaging in unfriendly and restrictive actions against Russia.”

The authors of the initiative emphasised that during Russia’s membership in the WTO, member countries have imposed numerous sanctions on the Russian Federation.

In this regard, the deputies consider it appropriate to “move toward new economic integrations through the conclusion of new international agreements with individual states or specific blocs sharing common goals and interests.”

Furthermore, the explanatory note says that leaving the WTO is necessary “to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation, implement protectionist policies, respond to sanctions pressure, and ensure self-defence," as well as suggesting invalidating the law that ratified the said protocol.

The Russian government, however, did not support the MP's initiative. According to the Cabinet’s response, WTO membership has given Russia “access to effective tools for promoting and protecting the interests of Russian companies.”

“The positive impact of WTO membership on Russian export performance is confirmed by its steady growth across nearly all non-resource goods categories,” the government's response added.

By Nazrin Sadigova