Reshetnikov announced the stagnation of the WTO since 2019 due to the blocking of the US appellate body

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been stagnant since 2019 due to the paralysis of the dispute settlement system.

At the initiative of the United States, the WTO appellate body was blocked, which led to the absence of final decisions on trade disputes between countries.

The failure of rules enforcement mechanisms undermines the entire WTO architecture.

MILWAUKEE, October 1 – RIA Novosti. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been stagnating since 2019 due to the paralysis of the dispute resolution system, blocked at the initiative of the United States, Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, told reporters.

“The WTO is really stagnating, it has been stagnating, in general, probably since 2019, when, on the American initiative, the work of the dispute resolution system was blocked - the second level, the appellate body, was essentially blocked,” Reshetnikov said on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting.

The minister explained that due to the lack of a functioning appellate body, trade disputes between countries have actually reached a dead end.

“Now disputes do not have a final solution, because the party that does not agree with the decision of the first instance, as they say, appeals to nowhere, to a body that does not exist. Therefore, all decisions are suspended,” he emphasized.

According to the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, the ineffectiveness of the mechanisms for enforcing rules undermines the entire architecture of the organization.

“Any system of rules without a system for their application, including enforcement, ceases to develop,” Reshetnikov stated.

Earlier, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported that Reshetnikov, who heads the Russian delegation, arrived at a meeting of G20 trade ministers in the American city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.