Analysts' view of the consequences of Russia's accession to the WTO

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created by the world community with the aim that all its members could have an equal presence in the planet's trade market.

Before joining the WTO, Russia, like other countries of the community, pursued certain goals, the main ones of which are:

• improving the access of Russian products to world markets;
• getting rid of discriminatory restrictions imposed by some countries on trade with Russia;
• obtaining legal guarantees from the international community in the event of trade disputes;
• increase in the level of foreign investment, which should have occurred in connection with the bringing of Russian laws in line with the legal framework of the WTO;
• improving the quality and competitiveness of Russian goods;
• participation in the development of international trade rules taking into account national interests;
• improving the image of Russia as a member of the WTO.

Describing the consequences of Russia's accession to the WTO, the Petersburg Politics Foundation in its report "Russia and the WTO"notes that the Russians faced certain problems. The fund made this conclusion based on the fact that our state is forced to introduce protection measures, and this is fraught with trade disputes.

According to analysts, the flow of meat and milk across the border, open to foreign goods, has increased significantly. The Institute for Agricultural Sector Studies assessed the first consequences of Russia's accession to the WTO and stated that by December 2012, imports of powdered milk exceeded 7.5 thousand tons, making a jump of 210 percent in just two months.

Russia's accession to the WTO in just two months increased the inflow of butter by 136, and cheese by 116 percent, compared to the same period in 2011, there was a significant increase in the supply of animal products, and the price of it in Russia falling.

In the central regions of Russia, the price of live pigs has decreased by more than 30%, and customs duties on this type of product have dropped from 40 to 5 percent.

Describing the consequences of Russia's accession to the WTO, the Petersburg Politics Foundation in its report notes that there are no obvious advantages from joining yet. This situation may be due to the fact that Russia has not yet developed the "infrastructure" of being in this world organization. There are no regulations that would regulate WTO membership, no representation of Russia in the WTO has been created, it is noted that there is insufficient funding for legal support aimed at resolving disputes.

Russia's accession to the WTO revealed one of the most important problems: in the WTO, Russia must act according to one rules, and build relations in the Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan - according to others. Despite the fact that the legal framework of the Customs Union was developed in accordance with the rules of the WTO, the problem is only in the interpretation of existing laws.

Studying the consequences of Russia's accession to the WTO, analysts note that in preparation for this process, too much attention was paid to ideological interpretation, and many practical issues were missed.

As Maxim Medvedev, director of the Department of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Economic Development, explains, Russia is constantly and steadily defending its interests: some of the restrictions imposed on Russian goods have already been lifted, and the final results of the Russian presence in the WTO can be discussed in a few years.