Russia's accession to the WTO gives hope for reform
Russia's accession to the WTO will be beneficial for both Russian exporters and foreign investors, according to Sergei Lapin, partner at the law firm Nadmitov Ivanov and Partners.
“Together with the widely discussed but relatively modest reduction in import tariffs on various goods, this will give Russian exporters, subject to restrictions imposed by Russia's trading partners, a chance to challenge these restrictions both domestically and at the WTO level,” he notes.
According to Sergei Lapin, this will also help open the Russian market to foreign service providers in a number of sectors and properly increase competition in the domestic market; ultimately, it should be beneficial to consumers, he says.
Hope has long been pinned on Russia's accession to the WTO as an event that will help improve the rule of law in the country. “First, upon joining the WTO, Russia made a number of commitments regarding the transparency of international trade legislation and its privatization program,” comments Lapin. “Secondly, as a result of the accession negotiations, Russia has pledged to enter into negotiations on accession to the WTO Agreement on Public Procurement, which has rather strict rules against corruption, one of the main problems in Russia.
Finally, among those WTO agreements that enter into force immediately with respect to Russia, there are the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), as well as the Agreement on Customs Valuation, which are also aimed at combating corruption. ...
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