Russia’s WTO accession nears

   The Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the World Trade Organization Thursday approved the terms and conditions for Russia’s accession to the WTO. 
   The decision marks the final step in the process before WTO ministers decide to formally invite Russia to become a WTO member, which is due to take place at the Eighth Annual WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva next month. 
   “This step marks a win for both the Russian people and the American people,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. “It will spur trade and support significant job growth in both countries as a result of lower tariffs and increased market access. It also brings Russia into a rules-based system, increasing transparency and predictability to the benefit of all businesses in Russia and ensuring that the Russian government is held accountable to a system of international trading rules governed by the WTO.” 
   The approved package includes the Russia-Georgia agreement, an enforceable commitment for Russia to join the Information Technology Agreement upon its accession and a commitment to enforceable treatment of intellectual property rights under the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. 
   It also includes U.S.-negotiated access for high quality beef, a commitment to bring Russian auto assembly into compliance by July 1, 2018, and an extensive commitment on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, among other provisions. 
   “The package serves as a rules-based framework modeled after the bilateral U.S.-Russia WTO bilateral market access agreement,” said Dan O’Flaherty, National Foreign Trade Council’s vice president. “We urge Congress to exempt Russia from the Jackson-Vanik amendment as soon as possible to ensure that U.S. exporters can compete on equal footing with Asian and European companies, agricultural producers and service providers in this increasingly competitive market.” 
   The Jackson–Vanik amendment, contained in the 1974 Trade Act, was intended to impact U.S. trade relations with countries with non-market economies (such as the former Soviet bloc) that hinder emigration freedoms and other human rights. 
   In the late 1990s, Congress removed China from the Jackson-Vanik amendment’s coverage as part of the country’s WTO entry.