The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos França, criticized this Monday (14) the unilateral decision of some countries that make up the World Trade Organization (WTO) to downgrade Russia’s trade status. According to the chancellor, the deliberation should have been collective.
“Canada did this, others followed, there is no extensive list here. But that worries me because this was a decision, I think, that was taken, if it were, within the multilateral trading system, that is, if this Canadian desire and for other countries”, he said.
Last Friday (11), the President of the United States, Joe Biden, announced that he would downgrade Russia’s status as a “most favored nation”, along with the G7 – a group of the most industrialized countries in the world, composed of the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The move allows those countries to raise tariffs on a wide range of Russian goods and also increases pressure on the Russian economy after the invasion of Ukraine. According to France, the sanction provides for a rate of 35% for the Canadian market, for example.
“Today, what we see, for example, in relation to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which countries have, contrary to the WTO, but being part of the WTO, have already withdrawn the most favored nation concession for Russia, a kind of punishment “, he said.
França’s statements were made this morning, during a master class for students of the international relations course at the Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research (IDP), in Brasília.
“I don’t think that [rebaixar o status comercial da Rússia] do good for the multilateral trading system. Nor for the interests of a country like Brazil, which has its strength precisely in multilateralism”, he added.
Source: CNN Brasil
