Russia Aiming for WTO Membership by End of Year
October 25, 2011
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin participate in a video conference with regional offices of the United Russia party, at the party's headquarters, Moscow, October 21, 2011.
Russia has been trying to join the World Trade Organization since 1993. Now Russian officials are saying they hope to become a member by the end of this year.
The 153-member World Trade Organization (WTO) is the agency overseeing the rules of international trade. It was founded in 1995, replacing an organization known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Experts say to become a WTO member is a complex procedure. First, a country has to accept a whole series of agreements. They include a ceiling on tariff levels governments can impose on various imported goods and another dealing with the protection of intellectual property. In addition to accepting all the WTO rules, a country then has to settle bilateral trade agreements with all the countries that so desire. And finally, a country has to change many of its economic and trade laws to make them conform to international standards.
The last country to join the Geneva-based WTO was Ukraine in 2008. Russia has been negotiating for 18 years.
David Christy, a lawyer [with the firm Thompson Hine] and trade expert who has helped governments with their WTO bids, says a country that wants to join and is serious in meeting WTO requirements can become a member within three to four years.
最新
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27