No pig squeal

After the "pig" demarche, America is unlikely to declare a "trade war" to Russia - there is nothing to fight for

After the "pig" demarche, America is unlikely to declare a "trade war" to Russia - there is nothing to fight for...

The very next day after the adoption of the Magnitsky Act by the Senate, the chief sanitary doctor of Russia, Gennady Onishchenko, announced a possible ban on the import of American beef and pork into Russia (although such a ban had already been introduced by the Rosselkhoznadzor - ed.). “And this has nothing to do with the adoption of the law,” the chief sanitary doctor hastened to announce. The reason for the “meat embargo” is a harmful (more precisely, “insufficiently studied”) feed additive - ractopamine, which American livestock breeders add to livestock feed so that the meat is not too fatty. The day after the adoption of the "Magnitsky Act" in the US Senate, Russia demanded from the United States guarantees that imported meat would not contain ractopamine. In the United States and Canada, the substance is allowed, and no special tests are carried out for its content in meat.

Now, 210 containers of meat worth $20 million are “hanging” on their way to Russia, the Federation of American Meat Exporters is sounding the alarm. If the ban is enforced, American manufacturers will lose half a billion dollars a year. Russia ranks 6th in the world in imports of American beef and pork. Rosselkhoznadzor denies any connection between the "meat trade war" and the "Magnitsky law", noting that the issue with ractopamine was raised a year ago and the relevant notifications were sent to the veterinary services of the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. According to the Russian department, there is reason to fear that eating meat containing food additives ractopamine and clenbuterol can cause heart problems in humans.

In response to statements by the American side that the demands of the Russian side were an act of political retaliation for the “Magnitsky list”, Onishchenko noted that “at present, the use of ractopamine is prohibited in 160 countries, including 27 countries of the European Union and China.”

And now let's remember how "timely and promptly" Russia declared unhealthy products imported from countries with which disagreements arose:

2005-2007 ban on meat from Poland. The issue was resolved after the change of the Polish president.

* 2006 - bans were introduced on *Ukrainian lard and Latvian sprats . The problem of salo disappeared after the victory of the "Party of Regions" of V. Yanukovych, with sprats everything settled down immediately after the settlement of the long-standing territorial dispute.

2006 - a ban on the import of Georgian and Moldovan wine. The famous mineral water "Borjomi" came under distribution.

2009 - a ban on dairy products from Belarus. The Kremlin has another “grater” with Batko Lukashenka.

2011 - after the arrest of Russian pilots in Tajikistan, G. Onishchenko declares Tajik migrant workers to be carriers of AIDS and tuberculosis . The pilots are released, the ban on migrants is instantly forgotten.

2011 - parliamentary elections in Transnistria coincide with a ban on the import of local cognac .

Aren’t there enough “coincidences”? If the Russian side announced its intention to ban meat with a harmful additive to the Americans a year ago, why did it delay the whole year, endangering the health of Russians: lovers of steaks and chops, and announced the ban exactly the day after voting on Capitols?

Washington was outraged. In a joint statement by US Trade Representative R. Kirk and Minister of Agriculture T. Vilsack, it is noted that Russia is violating its obligations under the WTO. According to American experts, the International Food Code allows the content of ractopamine residues in pork and beef within acceptable limits. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service does not conduct laboratory tests and, accordingly, does not issue any certification to companies about the presence or absence of ractopamine in their products. Obviously, the organization of such studies and the issuance of certificates will take some time.

Skeptics in America warned the government and Congress that Russia would not be fully compliant by joining the World Trade Organization. How China does not do this. Moscow officially joined the WTO on August 22, and already in November, the European Union threatened the Russian Federation with filing an arbitration complaint for "excessive protectionism." EU Trade Commissioner Karel du Gucht is promising lawsuits over high duties on imported cars, animal export bans, and obstruction of timber exports. This is just normal practice. The US has filed 98 WTO cases, including 19 against the EU and 12 against China. And the EU has filed 85 cases, including 32 against the US. As they say, nothing personal, just business.

For these reasons, American business, not at all confused by the observance of human rights by the Russian authorities, is dissatisfied with the congressmen. “They do not understand the size of the Russian market and the breadth of opportunities. They think Russia is still a communist country,” says Randy Levinas, executive director of the Coalition for US-Russian Trade, an organization that lobbies for the interests of 22 American companies, including PepsiCo, General Electric, Boeing, Procter & Gamble. American businessmen note: it's wrong that US exports to the world's 8th or 9th economy were only 0.6 percent of the total last year.

Now that everything is behind us, one can remember how 70 Republican congressmen called on President Obama to put pressure on the Democrats to remove the Magnitsky Act from the text of the law establishing normal trade relations with Russia. “I can’t push this law among the Democrats. But the president can do it,” Congressman Billy Long from Missouri said in July. And these are the party members of Mitt Romney, who declared Russia "the number one geopolitical rival" primarily because of the total deficit of democracy.

After the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, American business was counting on a breakthrough in the Russian market. According to the office of the US Trade Representative, tariffs on exports to Russia of chemical products (including cosmetics and pharmacology) should fall from 6.7% to 5.3%, engineering - from 9.3% to 6.8%, aerospace - from 10% to 5%, electrical equipment - from 7 to 6.1%, medical equipment - from 15 to 7%. Now it is clear why Washington so insistently called Moscow to the WTO?

After joining the World Trade Organization, Russia is waiting for inevitable showdowns with trading partners. It is important to separate trade and politics. The American side expects to double its exports to Russia. A trade war is the lesser evil. A “meat war” may be followed by a counter “steel war”, etc., but a “cold war” is much more dangerous than all trade wars.

The State Duma is hastily discussing retaliatory measures in connection with the adoption by both chambers of the US Congress of the Magnitsky Act. The document is called "On Measures to Influence Persons Involved in Violating the Rights of Citizens of the Russian Federation." We are talking about the compilation of "black lists" of American officials who participated in the high-profile trials of V. Bout and K. Yaroshenko. In the draft law, this is indicated as follows: “Persons involved in the abduction and illegal imprisonment of citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as those who have passed unreasonable and unfair sentences against them, fall under the action of the future law.” The matter is not limited to this. The deputies propose to impose sanctions on American citizens who are involved in the violation of the rights of Russians, including Russian children adopted and taken to the United States. The leaders of the four factions acted as a united front, outraged by the “Magnitsky act”, demonstrating that the systemic opposition and the party in power are united when it comes to the most expensive.

I note that blocking the activities of overseas organizations related to the adoption of Russian children in the United States will not solve the problem of babies abandoned by their parents, protecting their rights and ensuring a decent childhood in their homeland. But the full power of our "answer" for Magnitsky will be felt by American social workers and couples who are ready to pay thousands of dollars to host Russian children who often suffer from serious ailments. Such an asymmetric answer! Don't punish Obama and Cardin.