WTO task group accepts Russian quotas on meat imports

A consensus on the quotas on poultry, pork and beef imports, imposed by Russia, was reached during the latest informal discussion with members of the task group for Russia's admission to the WTO, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Maxim Medvedkov, who leads the Russian delegation at the WTO talks, declared at a news conference in Moscow today.

According to him, this discussion took place during the latest round of talks between Russia and member-countries of the WTO at the end of January. Medvedkov pointed out that some members of the task group, consisting of 66 countries, voiced their dissatisfaction with Russia's decision on this issue. However, Russia managed to prove that the measures it had taken were in line with the norms applying to WTO member-counties and were aimed at development of the agricultural market. Therefore, task group members admitted that Russia was entitled to take such measures, Medvedkov underlined. As a result, an agreement was reached that Russia would be able to impose similar restrictions not only on agricultural products but also on other categories of goods, Medvedkov pointed out.