In a ruling circulated today, a WTO panel confirmed that Russian import duties on paper, refrigerators and palm oil violate WTO rules. The import duties exceed those Russia agreed to when it joined the WTO. This is the first case ever decided in the WTO against Russia.

Despite being a WTO member since August 2012, Russia has not yet fulfilled some of its commitments made before its accession. This includes one of the WTO’s most fundamental rules, according to which its members must not apply ...