In a statement on Twitter on March 16, Consumer Technology Association (CTA) president, Gary Shapiro said, "we support G7's decision to deny Russia Most-Favored-Nation status and call on the collective tech industry to fully comply with government sanctions."
The following statement was released by the CTA on March 16.
CTA Stands with the People of Ukraine
Today, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® announced a Resolution in support of the people of Ukraine. This Resolution was voted on and approved by the CTA Executive Board on March 12, 2022.
CTA stands with the Ukrainian people and strongly condemns Russia’s tragic and illegal war.
Our thoughts are especially with the 88 people from Ukraine who attended CES 2022 including employees of the 15 Ukrainian technology companies who exhibited. This was a record number of companies from Ukraine and speaks to the innovation of the Ukrainian people. These men and women are part of the CTA and CES family and we hope for their safety and security.
As we noted in our prior statement, we are an American trade association and believe in the power of democracy and the recognition of duly elected leaders. We applaud the Russian people who are peacefully protesting the actions of their government and oppose the Russian government’s totalitarian efforts to crack down on freedom of speech and of the press.
We applaud the decisive actions taken by consumer technology companies who have voluntarily refused to sell products or make their services available in Russia. We also recognize technologies such as digital currencies and encrypted messaging platforms that allow Ukrainians to communicate, organize and raise resources as they defend their country.
We support the G7’s decision to collectively deny Russia Most-Favored-Nation status, thereby revoking benefits of Russia’s WTO membership. We urge other WTO Members to take their own steps to deny Most-Favored-Nation status to Russia. And we encourage our industry to fully comply with the sanctions that our government has put in place. If Russia does not quickly end all hostilities, we will bar Russian companies from participating in CES 2023.
We commend all heads of state who are working to end Russian aggression and bring peace, and we commit to being a resource for our government during this time.
