Russian Union Of Commodity Producers For Russia's WTO Membership

The Russian union of commodity producers believes Russia should join the World Trade Organisation /WTO/, given the current world economic globalisation. According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, the Russian union of commodity producers made a statement to the effect on Tuesday. The statement in particular runs that the negotiating process and the transitional period should be used for creating conditions heeding national interests, ensuring competitiveness to Russian products, commodities and services abroad and protecting domestic market from foreign expansion. Otherwise, Russia's WTO membership would finally undermine domestic industry and agriculture, further increase national economy's reliance upon raw materials and external factors, the document stresses. The participants in the session of the Union's board suggested that a social-economic council be set up under the president to develop a federal program of Russia's WTO membership, in conjunction with the Security Council, the Federation Council and the State Duma /upper and lower houses/.