Brussels, 27/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Following two days of discussions with his Russian counterpart German Gref and officials from the Russian economic development and trade ministry, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, that final agreement on Russia's accession to the WTO was “possible this year”. Adopting a somewhat conciliatory tone towards Moscow, Mr Mandelson said that “some problems remain to be cleared up, but none are serious enough to keep Russia out” of the multilateral organisation which governs world trade. After 14 years of negotiation, in November 2006, Russia concluded a bilateral agreement with the United States to take discussions on its accession to the WTO into the final, multilateral, stage. “We need to embed Russia firmly inside the international trading system. (WTO) membership will both seal Russia's re-emergence (on the international scene: Ed.) and drive further reform and evolution of its economy,” Mr Mandelson stressed.
While minimising the importance of the thorny issue of the Russian embargo on Polish meat exports in the discussions between Brussels and Moscow over Russia's accession to the WTO, Mr Mandelson noted: “It's the kind of trade dispute we could do without”. This issue is holding up the launch of negotiations on a new partnership and cooperation agreement between the EU and Russia. Mr Mandelson also pointed out that the majority of the problems “of a technical nature” which remained and, at this point, prevented the EU from giving the go-ahead to Russia's WTO accession, such as Russian import duties and differentiated export tariffs on Russian wood, had been virtually resolved. “None of these problems individually should be enough to block Russia's adhesion,” he said, adding, “From where we are sitting today, all can and should be resolved”. While calling for “a spirit of compromise and flexibility” to help achieve this end, Mr Mandelson said he was sure an agreement was “possible this year”. “I will be disappointed if it is not,” he stated, pointing out that negotiations had “gone too long” and that “a final effort” was now needed.
Mr Mandelson urges that trade should not be treated as “political commodity”
In a speech given in Moscow on Tuesday, Mr Mandelson called on Russia to renew its commitment to a “strong” trading relationship with the EU and to ensure that trade is not treated as a “political commodity”. Russia's accession to the WTO was “not about pleasing international opinion, but the pursuit of its own economic interests,” he said, arguing that the voices calling for “Russian isolationism can only lead Russia in the wrong direction”. “President Putin has overseen significant achievements and brought Russia to the threshold of full integration into the global economy. Now it is time to take the final steps,” the commissioner went on. He argued that Russia, with 82% of its exports being related to hydrocarbons and metals, needed to diversify its economy to become fully integrated into international trade. “It is true that the new Russian economy was built without the advantages of WTO membership. But that's an economic picture of the status quo. If Russia's only ambition is to be a hydrocarbon power, then it probably doesn't need the WTO. But Russians want more for their country,” Mr Mandelson added. “The WTO is not like the UN or the G8 … It is a contract based on commercial terms, creating legal obligations to openness and a commitment to transparent and proportionate regulation of trade,” he argued, insisting that it would be “hugely shortsighted to see trade rules as simply binding Russia without benefiting her too”. Finally, noting that Russia was the only major economy still outside the WTO, Mr Mandelson stressed that Russia's accession to the WTO would give it and the EU an important framework for controlling the politicisation of trade disputes. “Recent and current frictions in EU-Russia trade show the importance of de-escalating disputes. Trade should never be treated as a political commodity by either side”. (eh)