Russia might join The World Trade Organisation in 2002

The Russian government has set itself the task to step up negotiations on Russia's entry into the WTO. Ilya Yuzhanov, Russia's minister for anti-trust policy, told journalists Tuesday that this is expected to happen in 2002. However, he said, this will depend on the negotiating process with the WTO as a whole and with certain countries which tie Russia's entry into this organisation with some "additional commitments for Russia". According to Yuzhanov, during a regular session of the council for entrepreneurship under the Russian Federation's government, which was held Tuesday and chaired by prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the council members discussed Russian businessmen's positions on Russia's entry into the WTO. "The talk concerned strategic issues: whether it will bring some benefits or not, for which sectors of the economy /it might be beneficial/, and what difficulties we might face," Yuzhanov added. The minister stressed that some council members expressed their "personal misgivings" as regards prospects for their business after Russia's joining the WTO. On the other hand, Kakha Bendukidze, head of OAO (open joint-stock company) Obiedinenniye mashinostroitelnye zavody (United Engineering Plants) stressed that the "revival of competition" in the Russian economy depended on how fast the process of Russia's joining this organisation was completed. According to estimates of the Russian ministry of economic development and trade, Russia's gain from its entry into the WTO will exceed 18 billion dollars several years after it joins it. German Gref, Russia's economics minister, stressed that "this is the cost of the barriers for which Russia has to pay today." In his words, Russia's non-participation in the WTO this year will lead to a slowdown in the growth rates of industrial production by 2 percent this November-December.

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