Benefits of Russian Federation as a WTO member

Membership of RF in the WTO will undoubtly strengthen the multilateral trading system and create a more stable and predictable environment for trade and foreign investment which will have a positive impact on further economic development of RF.RF as the third most important trading partner with 8,5% share in EU trade has been one of EU’s strategic partners. EU with its 45% share in multilateral trading system is for RF the most important trade partner.  RF is also a very important trade partner for Slovenia, since RF represents the third most important export destination and by import it stands fifth. Entry of RF will bring new market opportunities for EU export sectors. Customs duties on imports of goods into RF will be reduced and there will be some restrictions on the amount of export duties for a number of key goods. (RF will bring greater certainty and stability to business operators and trading partners) Also by RF joining WTO the business and investment climate will improve. RF will be obligated to respect WTO rules in many areas, such as customs procedures, licensing, protection of intellectual property ,…The entry of RF to the WTO represents a significant milestone for further strengthening of bilateral economic relations between EU and RF.
Terms of accession by area:

RF’s WTO commitments

Import duties and quotas on goods RF has commited to lower tariffs on imports of goods (for certain goods reducing will be taken gradually during the transitional period  for the next  8  years)Average duties after full implementation of tariff reductions: The average tariff ceiling for agriculture products will be 10.8%, lower than the current average  of 13.2%

The ceiling average for manufactured goods will be 7.3% vs. the 9.5% average today on manufactured imports.

14.9% for dairy products (current applied tariff 19.8%)

10.0% for cereals (current applied tariff 15.1%)

7.1% for oil seeds, fats and oils (current applied tariff 9.0%)

5.2% for chemicals (current applied tariff 6.5%)

12.0% for automobiles (current applied tariff 15.5%)

6.2% for electrical machinery (current applied tariff 8.4%)

8.0% for wood and paper (current applied tariff 13.4%)

Final tariffs will be bound at zero for cotton and information technology (ITA) products.

The longest implementation period is 8 years for pork, followed by 7 years for motor cars, helicopters and civil aircraft.

Tariff rate quotas will be applied to beef (15% instead of 55%), pork (0% instead of 65%), poultry (25% instead of 80%), whey (10% instead of 15%)

FBR – final bound rates for each product are set out in the list of concessions and commitments on goods contained in the annex of the protocol of accession to the WTO (document WT/ACC7RUS/70/Add.1, WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1) on 17th of Nov 2011

In attachment (at the end of this document) you’ll find a list of certain products that are traditionally exported by SLO into RF, where after RF joining the WTO tariffs will be lowered.

 

 

 

Export duties on goods List of commitments includes commitments on reductions or. abolition of export duties (during the transition period), particularly for raw materials, including mineral fuels and oils, raw hides, wood, pulp and paper and base metals.Amount of export duties are set out in the list of concessions and commitments on goods contained in the annex of the Protocol of Accession to the WTO RF – Part V (WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.1 document, WT / MIN (11) / 2/Add. 1 of 11.17.2011).

 

Market access for services  RF has made specific commitments on 11 service sectors and on 119 sub-sectors.Such commitments are defined in the area/sectors of telecommunications, establishment of branches of foreign insurance companies and banks, transportation services, distribution services (RF will allow 100% foreign owned companies to engage in  wholesale, retail and franchise sectors).

 

 

General commitments on market access The Russian Federation would apply all its laws, regulations and other measures governing transit of goods (including energy) in conformity with GATT and WTO provisions. From accession, all laws and regulations regarding the application and the level of charges and customs fees imposed in connection with transit would be published.Quantitative restrictions on imports, such as quotas, bans, permits, prior authorization requirements, licensing requirements or other requirements or restrictions that could not be justified under the WTO provisions would be eliminated.

For EU is significant the respect of WTO agreement of imports licences. From the date of accession, importers of alcohol, pharmaceuticals and some products with encryption technology would not need import licences.

 

 

Pricing of energy  The Russian Federation would continue to regulate price supplies to households and other non-commercial users, based on domestic social policy considerations.Producers and distributors of natural gas in the Russian Federation would operate on the basis of normal commercial considerations, based on recovery of costs and profit.

 

 

Technical barriers to trade (TBT) The Russian Federation would ensure that all legislation related to technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures complies with the WTO TBT Agreement.The Russian Federation would regularly review its lists of products subject to obligatory certification or declaration of conformity, as well as all the technical regulations applied on its territory (Custom Union and Eurasian Economic Community included) to ensure that they remained necessary to achieve the Federation’s objective, in accordance with the WTO TBT Agreement.

Certified accreditation bodies would be replaced by a single national accreditation body no later than 30 June 2012.