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‘Beyond absurdity’: Diplomat slams US claims about Russia’s import substitution

On Tuesday, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the United States intends to use the WTO to hold Russia accountable for its alleged trade activities

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai Pete Marovich/The New York Times via AP, Pool

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai

© Pete Marovich/The New York Times via AP, Pool

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. The claims by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai about Russia’s import substitution in the IT sector and its alleged general non-compliance with the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are unfounded and beyond absurdity, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Friday.

"We’ve grown accustomed to the United States’ unfounded accusations against us, but this one exceeded all our expectations. Attacking us for import substitution, while we’ve had to listen for many years that they’re plotting against us here and there. [Threatening] to unplug us from SWIFT or something else. I’m sorry, but this is just beyond the boundaries of absurdity," the diplomat said.

The spokeswoman underscored Tai's claim that Russia maintains restrictions on non-scientific imports in the agricultural sector and refuses to accept other countries' guarantees on export capacity.

"Have they heard in Washington about their own sanctions or about the EU’s sanctions, Brussels adopted under pressure from Washington? Every time shortly before the New Year - apparently, this is becoming their tradition - Washington, with enviable permanence and with minimal adjustments, duplicates a set of claims against our country in the area of trade, while adopting more and more unilateral sanctions and making more and more threatening statements, in particular directly in the economic and financial spheres," Zakharova said.

On Tuesday, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the United States intends to use the WTO to hold Russia accountable for its alleged trade activities. She made this statement after her office released its "2021 Report on the Implementation and Enforcement of Russia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) Commitments."

According to that report, "Russia maintains restrictive at-the-border measures, institutes behind-the-border measures to inhibit trade, and implements an industrial policy seemingly driven by the guiding principles of import substitution and forced localization".

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