Russia is ready to prove the baselessness of the European Union's claims regarding the country's export restrictions on wood products at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the press service of the Russian Economic Development Ministry told Sputnik on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2022) Russia is ready to prove the baselessness of the European Union's claims regarding the country's export restrictions on wood products at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the press service of the Russian Economic Development Ministry told Sputnik on Friday.
On Thursday, the European Commission said that the EU requested consultations with Russia at the WTO to protest the country's tariff regulations on timber exports, and a significant decrease in the number of border crossing points handling wood exports.
"Under the WTO rules, a request for consultations is the first stage of proceedings carried out by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. During these consultations, Russian representatives intend to give exhaustive explanations regarding the measures taken towards wood export," the ministry said in a statement.
The European Commission said that Russia violated a WTO principle when it prohibited the use of several border crossing points under internal rules that went into force on January 1, 2022.
"We hope that our explanations will convince the European Commission that the EU's claims are baseless, and Russia's measures adhere to WTO rules," the deputy economic development minister, Vladimir Ilichev, said in the statement.
In December, the Russian government decided to increase export duties on certain wood products to limit unprocessed timber exports to comply with measures aimed at tackling deforestation.
The WTO General Council convenes as the Dispute Settlement Body when it resolves disputes between member countries of the organization.
