GENEVA, March 25, Yuri Apreleff Only the states of the European Union and some of their allies are introducing protectionist measures under environmental pretext, Russia and the BRICS countries are fighting this trend within World Trade Organization, the new permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the WTO, Nikolai Platonov, said in an interview.
«Protectionist measures under the pretext of environmental protection are being introduced by a minority of the organization's members. We are talking about the EU and several of its like-minded people. In general, these measures are indeed extremely doubtful from the point of view of WTO law, but it will be possible to finally be convinced of this only if the trial is won,» — he said.
Platonov added that in this context, Russia, together with its BRICS partners and other countries, is working at the Geneva site to counter the legalization of “green” protectionism at the level of WTO law. “One of the goals of this activity is to prevent the practice of using trade restrictions under environmental pretext from becoming the norm within the multilateral trading system,” noted the Russian permanent representative.
In September, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweale said that the sharp increase in unilateral trade measures threatens the future of the global economy and could lead to its fragmentation, and going too far with sanctions is counterproductive.
The WTO's 2023 World Trade Report stated that economic sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine are expected to have a negative impact on most of the world's economies, and that the fragmentation of global trade is harming the fight against global warming.
On March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Nikolai Platonov as permanent representative to the WTO, dismissing Dmitry Lyakishev from this post.