Multilateral trading system in crisis, must collectively protect international trade via WTO - Reshetnikov

MOSCOW. April 7 (Interfax) - The multilateral trading system is in crisis, and any attempts to create new regulatory systems, specifically through raising import tariffs, contradict World Trade Organization (WTO) norms and have already led to the global energy and food sectors worsening, Russia's Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Monday at the AIM Global 2025 investment conference in Abu Dhabi.

Reshetnikov said that it is necessary "to defend the system of international trade rules collectively through the WTO."

"We are currently facing fundamental changes in the global economic landscape. The world is moving toward multi-polarity. Efficiency always lies in finding a balance between the interests of foreign partners and local businesses. Sometimes the balance is disrupted. The multilateral trading system is in crisis," he said.

"We are witnessing attempts to create new systems of trade regulation that contradict the rules of the World Trade Organization," he said.

"These steps have already led to a deterioration in the situation in the global energy and food sectors. This has affected the most vulnerable consumers worldwide," Reshetnikov said.

"The rise in import tariffs, the spread of 'green protectionism' and the 'subsidy race' could trigger new protectionist measures globally," he said.

"We must collectively protect the system of international trade rules via the World Trade Organization," Reshetnikov said.