Russia officially joins World Trade Organization

Published: 21 July, 2012, 20:15

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the bill ratifying the country's accession into the World Trade Organization after 18 years of complicated negotiations.

The measure making Russia the 156th WTO member will become law within  30 days, after the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved  it on July 10 and the upper house, the Federation Council, on Wednesday.

Under the agreement, Russia would reduce average import tariffs to 7.8%  from 10% and open up investment in sectors such as telecommunications.

But the membership has also been controversial, with some  medium-sized firms expressing concern they will be put out of business  by being unable to compete against imports made cheaper by a reduction  in customs tariffs.

The reduction of the tariffs was a key condition for Russia entering  the WTO and they will fall from a current average level of 9.5 percent  to 7.4 percent in 2013, 6.9 percent in 2014 and 6.0 percent in 2015.

Currently, 39 % of the population welcome Russia’s WTO membership, compared to 59% in May 2003, a poll revealed.

However,  the World Bank estimates Russian GDP growth could be 3.3% over the  medium term and as much as 11% in the long term after joining the WTO.

http://rt.com/politics/russia-putin-wto-joins-755/