MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - Sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union against Russia contradict the principles of the World Trade Organization, First Deputy Chairman of State Duma Committee on Industry Vladimir Gutenev said Monday.
“The anti-Russian sanctions imposed today directly contradict the WTO principles, which allows us to say that the opportunities granted by the membership in this organization are unlikely to provide the expected economic benefits,” Gutenev said.
According to Gutenev, the pessimistic forecasts about the crash of the Russian economy and its major industries after accession to the WTO and the inflow of cheap goods didn’t come true, but there are still drawbacks of Russia’s membership in the organization.
“The expectations of Russian exporters of easier access to international markets don’t quite realize – about 80 restrictions are in place against Russian companies,” the lawmaker said, adding that Russian consumers do not feel WTO membership as the retail prices for imported goods didn’t decrease.
Last week, the US Treasury introduced a so-called Sectoral Sanctions Identification List that affects companies and institutions in defense, energy and banking sectors of the Russian economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the sanctions required a careful look but warned that the new round of limitations could bring the US-Russian ties to a dead end.
Earlier this year, US and EU have already imposed targeted sanctions against a number of Russian officials and companies over the Ukrainian crisis.
