Venezuela Asks for WTO Panel to Address US-Imposed Sanctions
Venezuela is asking a World Trade Organization panel to intervene in U.S.-imposed sanctions on the country, including those imposed on Petroleos de Venezuela, the state-run oil company, according to a memo Venezuela sent to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body chairperson. The U.S. “refused” consultations with Venezuelan officials after the country requested consultations in December, prompting Venezuela to take the next step and request establishment of a WTO dispute resolution panel. In the memo, Venezuela describes the U.S. actions as “coercive and trade-restrictive measures” and an “attempt to isolate it economically.” Venezuela also called them “discriminatory.”
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In the memo, Venezuela referenced several U.S. executive orders that sanctioned PdVSA and other state-affiliated entities and people, saying they are “inconsistent with the United States' obligations” under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and violate the General Agreement on Trade in Services. Venezuela said the U.S. sanctions give “products of Venezuelan origin treatment less favourable than that accorded to products of WTO Member countries” and that the U.S. “has not administered laws, regulations, decisions and rulings in relation to the measures in question in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner.”