Japan rejects US call to raise duties against China and India for buying Russian oil
Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato has opposed the US call to increase pressure on dictator Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine by imposing higher duties on China and India, which import oil from Russia.
Bloomberg writes about it, Censor.NET informs.
"Japan has made a commitment under the World Trade Organization not to apply tariffs in excess of the established limits and to treat all member countries fairly if others comply with their obligations under WTO agreements," Kato said.
According to him, "it would be difficult to raise tariffs, for example, to 50%, just because a country buys Russian oil."
The minister's comments came after an online meeting of the Group of Seven countries, where the United States urged its allies to consider imposing tariffs of up to 100% against China and India because they continue to buy Russian oil.
However, Tokyo emphasizes caution, as Japan itself continues to import oil and liquefied natural gas from Russia. In particular, the Sakhalin-2 project remains critical to ensuring the country's energy stability and is not subject to Western sanctions.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, in June, the share of Russian oil in Japan's imports was about 1%.
"We are assessing which format of pressure will be most effective and are actively coordinating our actions with our G7 partners," Kato added, referring to possible measures to stop Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
