Russian Federation

“Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat a report by the government and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - "key trade facts" - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports main export destinations origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Russian Federation.

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT contracting parties in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.

The working party on the accession of Russia was the biggest and longest in WTO accession history. A big power that decides to join an international organisation even if this is the WTO cannot avoid political burdens. No big country can stay apart from world politics. The WTO accession process is tough demanding and complex with no clear rules. This raises questions about length fairness and lack of procedural clarity. Yet it is risky to stay outside the rules-based multilateral trading system. To navigate the WTO accession process upfront it is critical to define a negotiating strategy and plan the end-game well in advance – a process that requires mobilisation of all negotiating resources concentration and focus. Domestically the challenge for the acceding government is to state a clear rationale for accession demonstrate that there will be real benefits from accession or at a minimum that there will be no negative consequences and define red lines to be defended. Negotiating positions should be aligned with requirements for domestic reform. Strong and consistent political will and leadership with support from the parliamentary majority are necessary to conclude any accession negotiations. WTO accession may in itself play neither a negative nor a positive role for domestic economic developments but by becoming a member a country will obtain benefits in the medium and long term through the creation of better terms for its trade within the WTO itself. In this chapter Russia’s practical experience of its accession negotiation the obstacles encountered its assessment of the benefits of accession including lessons learned during the process are described.