Reshetnikov called the US argument on tariffs strange and far from WTO principles

Brief retelling from RIA II

The head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, said that the US argument for introducing duties on 60 countries, including Russia, under the slogan of fighting “forced labor” looks strange and far from the principles of the WTO.

Maxim Reshetnikov drew attention to the fact that the United States has not fully approved all the key documents of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The head of the Ministry of Economic Development warned that Washington’s approach leads to further rounds of restrictions and is far from signs of free competition and WTO principles.

MILWAUKEE, October 1 – RIA Novosti. The United States' reasoning for introducing duties on 60 countries, including Russia, under the slogan of combating "forced labor" looks strange and is far from the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, told reporters.

“The fact is that the American side introduced duties for 60 countries... the latest package of duties was precisely based on the fact that countries are not making adequate efforts to combat forced labor... But, to put it mildly, the argumentation, the quality of the research, and the evidence base are, in general, so strange,” Reshetnikov said on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting.

The minister drew attention to the fact that the United States itself has not fully approved all the key documents of the International Labor Organization (ILO). According to him, standard international practice involves targeted investigations of specific cases, which cannot be unreasonably projected onto the entire state for trade restrictions.

“As a rule, its (ILO) practice is that individual cases are investigated, and in no way can individual cases and the practices of individual companies be applied to the entire country and, on the basis of this, introduce some duties,” the head of the Ministry of Economic Development emphasized.

He warned that such an approach from Washington will most likely lead to further rounds of restrictions and is “very far from signs of free competition and WTO principles.”

In July, the United States imposed additional tariffs of 10% and 12.5% ​​on imports from 60 key partner countries, accusing them of failing to effectively curb the import of goods produced using forced labor.

Russia is included in the group of states for which an increased rate of 12.5% ​​is established, covering the vast majority of categories of supplied products.