MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/: Washington’s possible withdrawal from the World Trade Organization (WTO) would make its further existence meaningless, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
"Of course, the existence of this core economic organization would be challenged, once the world’s largest economy leaves it. This is obvious," Peskov said.
When commenting on the recent statement by US President Donald Trump, who warned that America might leave the WTO, Peskov stressed that "this is the internal affair of the United States" and recalled that "Russia is a member of the WTO with all the consequences that come with it."
On Tuesday, August 13, when speaking to workers at a Shell chemical plant in Pennsylvania, US President Donald Trump said that the US "may leave the WTO" if "we have to."
The White House occupant was confident that for many years other countries, including China, used the global trade body to their advantage against the United States. However, Trump noted that things have changed under his presidency.
Earlier, the US commander-in-chief repeatedly slammed the WTO saying that he was ready to order Washington to pull out of the organization if it does not clean up its act.
During his speech on Tuesday, Trump reiterated that "they (the WTO) have been screwing us (the US) for years and it's not going to happen again."
In particular, he said, the economic organization gave preferences to China. He stressed that the WTO needed to change its policy.
The World Trade Organization, located in Geneva, Switzerland, was established on January 1, 1995 and is based on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded in 1947. More than 160 countries are WTO members. Russia joined the organization in 2012.
