One way to punish Vladimir Putin with money is to remove Russia from the World Commerce Group. After the Russian government invaded Ukraine, there is no doubt that it is not good enough to be part of an international business group that tries to solve problems through peaceful means. There isn’t a specific WTO rule about expelling a member. A member of the WTO can be kicked out of the group if two-thirds of the group’s 164 members agree to change the group’s rules. In the event that Russia doesn’t agree to the changes, a three-quarters vote could kick them out of the group. The official authority is there. The question is whether or not there is enough political will to do what needs to be done.
WTO membership would add to the financial pressure that would make Mr. Putin’s government drag again if he didn’t get the benefits. Russia’s gross domestic product is made up of about one-fourth of its trade. The lack of WTO advantages would prove pricey for Mr. Putin in his effort to promote a costly forragile economic system, along with his authorities, more and more. They are justly shunned by the public.
Some of the benefits of the WTO can be replaced by other free-trade agreements, but not all of them. WTO members usually have tariffs that range from 9% to 12%. A non-member will be subject to tariffs that aren’t limited by the rules of the WTO.
Members of the WTO have the protection of the group’s rules against unfair trade practices. Without them, a member can discriminate against the trade of a nonmember in any way they want. Members of the WTO are limited in how much they can stop exports to other members, but non-members can have all trade stopped. Because Iran and North Korea aren’t members of the WTO, they face unfair trade restrictions every day.
He and his administration should be putting pressure on WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to get rid of Vladimir Putin and his cronies from the group. They should try to get support for a change that would deny the Russian Federation its rights and free it from its obligations as a member of the WTO, which would be a good way to do that.
As soon as the Russians get rid of Mr. Putin and their country comes back to its senses, they’ll embrace the rules-based world trading system again.
At the University of Central Florida, Mr. Bacchus is a professor of international affairs. He is also an “adjunct fellow” at the Cato Institute. On March 10, he’s going to write a book called “Commerce Hyperlinks: New Rules for a New World.” He was a co-founder and former head of the WTO’s appeals body.
