Russia, US near WTO deal
13 Jul 2006
Mumbai: US President George W Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to sign a protocol, paving the way for Moscow's entry into the World Trade Organisation, when they meet at St Petersburg on Friday and Saturday for the annual G8 summit, news agencies quoted finance minister Alexei Kudrin as saying on Thursday. "I hope that a protocol will be signed before the G8, tomorrow or the day after," Kudrin was quoted by Interfax as saying.
The report said the American side had dropped a demand that foreign banks be given direct entry by allowing them to open branches in Russia instead of operating subsidiaries.
US officials, however, said no deal had been reached yet between the US and Russia on Moscow's WTO entry.
Business groups and members of the US Congress have warned the Bush administration against rushing into a deal with Russia over its entry into the world trade body. In a letter to President Bush, 20 Democratic senators have voiced their "serious concerns … over issues critical to the US like agriculture, manufacturing, high tech, intellectual property and services industries remain outstanding."
Top US and Russian negotiators are engaged in a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement on Russia's WTO membership ahead of the G8 summit beginning Friday.
An entry into the WTO has been a priority of Russia for years as membership of the Geneva-based trade body would protect Russian exports against arbitrary decisions by other countries.
Currently, the US is the sole member among the 149-strong WTO opposing Russia's entry. The US opposition is based on concerns that the Russian economy still favors state-run companies and other powerful interest groups in the country. The US is also upset about Russia's use of food safety rules that block imports of American meat and poultry and the rampant pirating of music.
