Brussels, 04/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - In July, the European Parliament is to validate bilateral agreements between the EU and Russia, accompanying the accession of the latter to the WTO, and which are more favourable to the EU27 than they would be under the rules of the multinational organisation.
On 30 May, the committee on international trade of the European Parliament gave its green light for bilateral agreements that the EU has reached with Russia in the light of its forthcoming accession to the WTO, which give the EU27 commercial advantages regarding the export of Russian wood, trade in car parts, rights over raw materials and the services market.
The agreement on tariff quotas for the export of Russian wood will increase the supply of wood from Russia, which has agreed to reduce its export duty and offer the EU relatively high quotas for its exports of low-duty wood. The agreement lays down the rules for the application of these quotas and prevents Russia from applying unexpected duty increases. The European wood industry imports nearly 10% of the raw wood it uses, 60% of which comes from Russia.
The agreement on car parts protects European producers of car parts affected by the Russian regime for investment in the automotive industry, which protects the national sector. The measures under this regime will remain in force until 2018. These measures give foreign car producers incentives to relocate to Russia and disadvantage Russian imports of foreign car components. Under the agreement, if exports of car parts from the EU are below 3% a year, Russia will reduce its import duty on car parts proportionately.
The agreement on raw materials obliges Russia to consult the EU and negotiate with it at least two months in advance of any plans to increase its export duty for raw materials which are not included in Russia's binding commitments to the WTO, such as wheat, sunflower seeds, tobacco, animal hides, wool and cotton and a large number of earths and minerals.
The agreement on trade related to services gives new opportunities to the EU's maritime transport agencies seeking to establish themselves in Russia. It also gives preferential access to people working for European services companies required to work in Russia to set up a company in the country. It lays down a minimum quota of 16,000 work permits a year for this purpose.
The approval of the Parliament as a whole for these four agreements is required for them to enter into force. The plenary vote is scheduled for July. Russia is set to join the WTO by the end of the summer. The documents required for the ratification of Russia's accession protocol to the WTO are to be presented to the Duma (lower chamber of the Russian parliament) in the near future. (EH/transl.fl)