Russia Bans Ukrainian Confectionery

Russia on Tuesday barred confectionery imports from Ukrainian firm Roshen citing health concerns. This move is the latest in a string of trade restrictions on both sides. Russian consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement on Tuesday it had found a carcinogenic substance in Roshen's chocolate and was barring imports of all products made at four of Roshen's Ukrainian plants. Earlier this month, Russia said it planned to levy additional duties on imports of Ukrainian chocolate, coal and glass in retaliation for a Ukrainian emergency import tax on cars which is likely to hurt Russian producers, among others. Ukraine says it has imposed the emergency car tax in March under the World Trade Organisation's "safeguard" rules, which allow countries to protect a sector if there is a threat of serious damage to producers from a surge in imports. However, a number of WTO members, including the European Union, have accused Ukraine of breaking the global trade club's rules.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/30/russia-ukraine-chocolate-idUSL6N0G04IN20130730

Constitutional Court OKs Russia's WTO Entry

Russia's Constitutional Court has rejected an official inquiry submitted by Duma lawmakers questioning the constitutionality of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation. The lawmakers that submitted the inquiry say that State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) did not receive a copy of the Marrakesh Agreement with an official translation, and that the draft bill on the accession was not approved by the federal subjects of Russia. The MPs also claimed that the draft law presented to them had an incorrect economic basis. The Constitutional Court refused the probe, stating that overturning a presently active international treaty under the pretense of domestic law is reserved for extreme cases with proven violations of the Constitution.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20130724/268306668.html

http://rt.com/politics/wto-constitution-membership-protest-700/

EU to Sue Russia in First WTO Dispute

In September, the World Trade Organization may start hearing the first dispute between Russia and the European Union since Moscow joined the organization, if the two sides fail to settle the issue of Russia's vehicle recycling levy out of court, the Economic Development Ministry reported on Tuesday. The EU will launch its claim against Russia at the WTO later on Tuesday, challenging Moscow's recycling levy on imported cars, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing EU diplomatic sources. "We gave Russia until July 1 to lift these recycling fees and it failed to do so, so that is why we are taking this to the WTO. Hopefully this can be resolved quickly. It is important that Russia, as a WTO member, plays by global trade rules," Reuters quoted an EU diplomat as saying. The EU has criticized Moscow’s recent introduction of a disposal fee on car imports, arguing that the charge is actually a protectionist move under the guise of an environmental measure, levied to shield domestic car producers from increasing competition since Russia joined the WTO.

http://en.ria.ru/business/20130709/182141456/EU-Ready-to-Sue-Russia-in-First-WTO-Dispute.html

USTR Issues Report on Russia's WTO Compliance

According to a recent report by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), annual U.S. exports to Russia increased 29% in 2012 and are up another 10.5% through the first quarter of 2013 as compared with Q1 2012. Russia is the world’s sixth largest economy, and there continues to be an enormous opportunity for U.S. manufacturers to increase exports into this sizeable market. On August 22, 2012, Russia became a formal member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) after 18 long years of negotiations. In December, Congress extended Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia, terminating the Jackson-Vanick amendment. The full scope of the WTO rules, with an established system of enforceable multilateral trade rules, now apply to the United States and Russia. The report, published in June, was required by the PNTR legislation passed by Congress in December 2012. Russia still has much to do, though, to fully comply with its WTO accession agreement. One of the concerns specifically addressed in the report is Russia’s discriminatory motor vehicle “recycling fee” on the sale of imported vehicles. USTR has been working with Russia on this issue, and the Russian legislature has since published a proposed amendment to revise the program to apply the fee to domestically produced vehicles.

http://www.shopfloor.org/2013/07/ustr-issues-first-annual-report-on-russias-compliance-with-wto-commitments/29189
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2013/june/amb-sapiro-russia-wto-compliance

Kazakhstan May Join WTO in 2013

Kazakhstan may join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2013, WTO Director-General Pascal Lami said on Thursday. Kazakhstan is currently at an advanced stage of WTO entry negotiations and could complete accession this year, Lami said on the sidelines of the Gaidar economic forum in Moscow. Belarus is at a less advanced stage of WTO negotiations, Lami said, adding he could not specify a timeframe for its entry into the WTO. The ex-Soviet states of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are members of the Customs Union and need to exist within a single trading regime. Russia has been a WTO member for several months now and Kazakhstan and Belarus are de facto forced to comply with many WTO norms, Lami said. Russia officially joined the WTO in August 2012 after 18 years of negotiations, becoming the global trade body’s 156th member.

http://en.ria.ru/business/20130117/178838733.html

Tajikistan Ratifies WTO Agreement

The lower house of Tajikistan’s parliament ratified an agreement on the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday, concluding Dushanbe's drive to join the trade body. Tajikistan was admitted to the WTO last December, becoming only the second Central Asian nation, after Kyrgyzstan, to gain admission. The country's Economic Development and Trade Minister Sharif Rakhimzod said on Wednesday his country’s accession “will certainly facilitate the appearance of Tajik goods in world markets and improve investment attractiveness.” Tajikistan first applied for WTO membership in 2001, promising to enact reforms to open up its economy. The poorest country in the former Soviet Union, Tajikistan's business climate has been mired by allegations of pervasive official corruption and the influence of a bustling drug trade from neighboring war-torn Afghanistan.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20130109/178660769/Tajikistan_Parliament_Ratifies_WTO.html

Russia Accedes to WTO

Russia formally became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Thursday. The protocol on Russia’s accession to the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO took effect on August 22. The protocol was signed in Geneva on December 16, 2011. Ministers of the WTO member states approved Russia’s accession to the organization after 18 years of negotiations. Russia will assume all obligations under the agreement as a WTO member state. The transitional period for liberalizing market access is generally 2-3 years, or 5-7 years for sensitive goods. Russia has been seeking WTO membership since 1993. Active talks on Russia’s membership began in 1995. In mid-November 2011, the working group created to facilitate Russia’s accession to the WTO confirmed all relevant agreements. The federal law "On the Ratification of the Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization of April 15, 1994" was adopted by the Russian parliament's lower house on July 10 and endorsed by the upper house on July 18. The Constitutional Court announced on July 9 that it saw no violations involved in signing the protocol on Russia's accession to the WTO. In July 2012, President Vladimir Putin signed the WTO accession law into force.

http://www.rapsinews.com/legislation_news/20120822/264365000.html

Russia Joins WTO

On Saturday Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law that authorizes the protocol for Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Kremlin said. The protocol on Russia's accession to the Marrakesh Agreement, the foundation document for the WTO, was signed in Geneva on December 16, 2011 after almost 18 years of negotiations. The document which has earlier been ratified by both houses of Russian parliament, stipulates that Russia, as a WTO member state, will undertake to comply with the obligations of the Marrakesh Agreement. The transition period to liberalization of access to Russia's markets is two to three years, but this is extended to five to seven years for markets requiring more protection such as the automobile industry and agriculture, agricultural machinery production and light industry. The Russian opposition, including communists and "A Just Russia" party, has claimed on many occasions that Russia’s accession to the WTO was detrimental to Russia’s national sovereignty and security and could ruin whole sectors of the domestic economy.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120721/174715444.html

State Duma Ratifies Russia's WTO Accession

In a plenary session, the State Duma adopted a resolution ratifying Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization. Only United Russia deputies supported the ratification during the individual voting. Representatives of all of the opposition factions objected. The protocol stipulates that Russia, as a WTO member state, undertakes all of the obligations under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. The transitional period for liberalizing market access is 2-3 years and 5-7 years for sensitive goods. The Duma's decision provoked a host of disputes in the business community and in parliament. An appeal was filed with the Constitutional Court, but the Court found no violation of the Constitution.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20120710/263751540.html

Russian Constitutional Court Backs WTO Membership

Russia's Constitutional Court cleared the path for lawmakers to approve membership of the WTO by ruling that joining the world free trade club was legal and in line with the country's basic law. "The protocol was signed and approved in accordance with a procedure that does not contradict the state's constitutional order," Interfax quoted the Constitutional Court judgement as saying. The ruling on a Communist Party bid to block World Trade Organisation membership enables the State Duma (lower house of parliament) to proceed with the legislation after 18 years of tense negotiations between Russia and the WTO. Russia became the world's largest economy outside the trade group upon China's accession in 2001.

http://www.france24.com/en/20120709-russias-top-court-backs-wto-membership
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/07/09/wto/

Russia, Georgia Strike WTO Deal

A Russian negotiator announced that Russia has reached an agreement with Georgia that would clear the path for Russia to join the World Trade Organization after 18 years of delay. Maksim Medvedkov, Russia’s envoy to the talks in Geneva, said Moscow had agreed to a Swiss-mediated proposal that would allow for the monitoring of trade flow between Russia and Georgia. Medvedkov said the monitoring plan “does not depart from the framework of Russia’s principled position.” “We are pleased that Georgia supports the project, and that an agreement has finally been reached,” he said. Georgia, in turn, seems to be happy with the outcome of the negotiations. "We have always wanted to control [movement] of cargo either directly or by international monitoring. That's exactly what the World Trade Organization regulates and that's what our proposal to Russia has been. After launch of an open aggression it has of course become very complicated," Georgian Presdient Mikheil Saakashvili said a day earlier. "I want to thank you for a very difficult and thorough work you have done in this difficult negotiating process," Saakashvili told the Georgian negotiators.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1809765
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/world/europe/russia-says-it-will-join-wto-in-deal-with-georgia.html
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24094

EU Urges Georgia to Let Russia Join WTO

Announcing a deal with Russia on its bid to join the World Trade Organization, the EU trade commissioner called on Tbilisi and Moscow to resolve their WTO-related dispute soon.
"We have struck a deal on the final outstanding bilateral issues, leaving the way open for Russia to join the WTO by the end of this year," Karel De Gucht, the EU trade commissioner, said. "There is now very little time left to reach a bilateral agreement between Georgia and Russia. I call on both parties to continue their efforts to find a solution in a spirit of compromise. The EU is ready to offer whatever help is necessary to resolve the issue," he added. Georgia said the last round of the Swiss-mediated talks with Russia failed to bring any progress as Moscow was still resisting measures necessary for "full transparency of trade across the disputed borders in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia." The next round of talks are planned for early next week. Meanwhile in Moscow, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, again suggested that there was a way for Russia to join the WTO without Georgia's green light. “Following strictly the WTO’s documents, Georgia’s position is not an obstacle. There are ways to act so that our trade obligations towards all the WTO members do not apply to Georgia,” Lavrov said in an interview with three Russian radio stations.

http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24063