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Venezuela is rejecting US sanctions before the World Trade Organization, including those imposed on its controversial cryptocurrency attempts.
The complaint, presented at the end of last month and published this week, addresses a series of actions taken by the United States in recent years, states that the country violates Venezuela's rights under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) signed in 1994 and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In particular, the complaint detects certain restrictions imposed on Venezuelan digital currency transactions.
"The United States has imposed some restrictive measures to restrict trade in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the context of attempts to isolate Venezuela economically", stated the statement.
Venezuela has announced for the first time to develop a cryptocurrency, the petro, towards the end of 2017. The currency was launched in 2018 and since then has been ordered in various sectors by the president of the strong woman, Nicolas Maduro.
However, the controversial token also saw the pushback, in particular by US lawmakers, who denounced the cryptocurrency, and more strongly by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order directed to the petro last March.
The Venezuelan complaint claims that these sanctions are "coercive and restrictive measures for discriminatory trade".
In particular, explains the complaint, the measures indicate that Venezuelan financial services and financial service providers receive "less favorable" treatment than services and suppliers in other WTO member countries.
For this reason, these measures violate Article II: 1 of the GATS, according to which no member country will treat another member less favorably than any other country, according to Venezuela.
The complaint goes on to say:
"In addition, since US currencies originating in the United States are not subject to the same bans as Venezuelan digital currencies, the US is following less favorable treatment for Venezuelan financial services and service providers than financial services and service providers domestic, in violation of Article XVII: 1 of the GATS. "
Article XVII: 1 states that member nations will not treat financial services and service providers of other nations less favorably than they treat these providers in their nations.
According to Reuters, the United States has 60 days to respond to Venezuela's claim. If the nation fails to do so, Venezuela could then ask the WTO to decide on merit.
Image of the Venezuelan flag through Shutterstock
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