The ministers of economy and trade of the BRICS countries discussed the topics of reforming the World Trade Organization as well as the risks of using the climate agenda to create new barriers to trade, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th July, 2020) The ministers of economy and trade of the BRICS countries discussed the topics of reforming the World Trade Organization as well as the risks of using the climate agenda to create new barriers to trade, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov said on Thursday.
The tenth meeting of the ministers of economy and trade of the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - was held on Thursday in a videoconference format.
"A large block of issues that we discussed and which caused the most heated discussions is related to the multilateral trading system and the reform of the WTO," Reshetnikov told reporters.
He added that the problem of the WTO appellate body is in the focus of discussion in many countries because of concerns about increasing protectionism amid the fight against the spread of coronavirus.
Reshetnikov also noted that during the meeting, issues of the environmental agenda were considered.
"The Russian side is extremely concerned about attempts to use the climate agenda to create new barriers, we see a danger in this," the minister said.
In particular, Reshetnikov expressed BRICS' concern over the carbon cap policies proposed by the European Union in its ambitious environmental goals.
"It is very important for us that all measures taken to develop the environmental agenda strictly comply with the WTO standards. Because the mechanisms that are now proposed by some of our colleagues, from our point of view, they contradict the WTO standards, and we have expressed this position to our trading partners," Reshetnikov said.
Europe's "green deal" implies radical reforms in the economy, energy and transport, with the aim of becoming as green and carbon neutral as possible. It will cost the European Union, according to preliminary estimates, about three trillion euros (about $3.5 trillion). Brussels promises to cover only a third of these costs, the rest, according to the plan, will be provided by the European Investment Bank and the EU countries themselves.
