Moscow News
http://www.mnweekly.ru/
May 22, 2008
Speed Bumps on Russia’s WTO Road
By Ed Bentley
Russia embarked on a new round of bilateral and multilateral talks with the WTO just three days after the Ukraine formally gained accession. Russia has been attempting to join the WTO since 1993 and has already signed agreements with sixty of the WTO member countries.
The addition of Ukraine has expanded the WTO to 152 countries, and the trading body accounts for 95 percent of world trade. President Viktor Yushchenko signed the accession agreement in February and formally joined the WTO on May 16. They will now be given the chance to participate in the talks.
"Ukraine, like every other WTO member, has the right to join the working group on Russia's accession," said Maxim Medvedkov, Russia's chief negotiator in the talks.
"Everyone has been invited, including Georgia," he added.
Ukraine will now have the power to block Russia's bid, but it is Georgia who is currently stalling Russia's accession, due to the conflict over Abkhazia.
However, Georgia's opposition is only due to Russia's support for the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The countries minister for integration was adamant Russia would not join the organization until these tensions were resolved.
Until the Presidential decree for closer ties to Abkhazia, "which infringes upon Georgia's rights, is revoked, it will be an obstacle to Russia's WTO accession," he said on May 16.
The Estonian ambassador, Erosi Kitsmarishvili, confirmed on Tuesday that this is Georga's only reason for blocking Russia's bid.
"Our position is linked to specific issues. If these problems are resolved, we are ready to support Russia‘s entry into the WTO," he said. More optimistically, he added that "the situation that is shaping up in our relations can be overcome."
However, Medvedkov opposed these statements from Georgia, arguing that they are unrelated to Russia's WTO bid and that there were other platforms for these bilateral problems.
"We are ready to negotiate with Georgia and other partners on all issues relating to the WTO, and for other issues there are other platforms, which they use with success," he told Kommersant.
Joining the WTO will present some significant opportunities for the economy. Upon accession, Russia would benefit from better terms of trade with member states and the lowering of trade barriers. However, Russia would also have to remove some of its tariffs, as the bilateral treaties seek to ensure all member states face the same terms of trade.
This week the Minister of Agriculture, Alexei Gordeyev, expressed concerns about joining the WTO as the competition would affect Russian production. Although Russia currently imports 41 percent of its meat products, he believes that Russia can become agriculturally self sufficient, while simultaneously becoming a food exporter.
Agricultural protectionism is one of the topics being discussed by a WTO working group, along with intellectual property protection and customs. Agreements on these issues will be needed both bilaterally and multilaterally for Russia to accede to the WTO.
Medvedkov remains optimistic about the talks and believes that Russia can join the WTO before the end of the year.