A step away from WTO

Maksim Medvedkov – Russian WTO Negotiator at RUSSIAN TODAY Channel (RT.COM)

Today our guest is Russia’s chief negotiator to the WTO, Maksim Medvedkov. Russia has been knocking on the door of the World Trade Organization for the last 17 years, but so far, no one has answered. But after President Medvedev said Russia’s WTO membership was a matter of months away, officials assure us they are down to the fine details. We heard that story a couple of years ago. So will the WTO stay out of reach or will we finally become a part of the world trade community? We ask WTO negotiator, Maksim Medvedkov.


Case feedback:
Russia Backs Away From Some W.T.O. Commitments

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 25, 2008
MOSCOW (AP) — The prime minister Vladimir V. Putin backed proposals Monday allowing Moscow to back off on some commitments — particularly in agriculture — that it has made during World Trade Organization accession talks, the state-run media reported.

Related
Managing Globalization Blog (IHT)
Russia Confirms the W.T.O’s Failure
Go to Blog »
Russia, the only major country still outside the W.T.O., faces major barriers to membership even after 14 years of negotiations to join the 153-member body, which sets the rules on global trade.

Accession has been held up over a number of issues, including farm subsidies, export taxes on wood and rules concerning Russian state monopolies like Gazprom.

But now Western officials, including President Bush and the secretary of commerce Carlos Gutierrez, say that Russia’s entry into the W.T.O. could be jeopardized by its military actions in Georgia.

Analysts said Russia’s toughened stance was a response to those warnings.

“The West has been saying it won’t allow Russia to join the W.T.O. until it pulls out its troops from Georgia,” said Yevgeny Gavrilenkov, chief economist at Troika Dialog investment bank. Now Russia is “virtually saying we don’t want W.T.O. membership on these terms.”

During a government meeting Monday, the first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov said Russia should continue negotiations for W.T.O. entry, but should step back from agreements that place an unnecessarily heavy burden on Russia.

“We should inform our partners of the need to exit some agreements that currently contradict the interests of the Russian Federation,” Mr. Shuvalov said, according to the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency.

Mr. Putin backed Mr. Shuvalov’s suggestions, commenting that Russia has faced some onerous trade conditions, especially in agriculture.

“We see virtually no advantages, but we are carrying a burden,” Mr. Putin said. “That does not mean we should abandon our strategic goals of moving toward W.T.O., but we must be clear when dealing with our partners.”

Mr. Shuvalov would not tell reporters the exact agreements in question while negotiations were still going on, but said the accords should be suspended until Russia joins the W.T.O. He said that Russia was unlikely to gain entry into the organization in the next year, Interfax reported.

Maxim Medvedkov, Russia’s chief W.T.O. negotiator, said Russia wished to rescind unspecified concessions it had made with some countries in agriculture and other industries in return for their support for expedited accession, Interfax reported.

The European Union, meanwhile, urged Russia to abide by its trade agreements.

Russia also faces opposition to its joining the W.T.O. from Georgia, which has demanded that Russia cease trading with its two breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and that all goods pass between Russia and Georgia through checkpoints run by Georgia.

In turn, Russia has been lobbying the United States to remove the Jackson-Vanik agreement, a Soviet-era regulation that has restricted bilateral trade and remained an irritant in American-Russian relations.

Other analysts said W.T.O. membership was simply no longer the priority it once was for Russia.