Ralph Winnie Jr., Contributing Editor's Article on WTO in the Washington Post

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Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization is closer to being
accomplished than at any time in the turbulent 17 years it has been trying to
join, yet there are still barriers to overcome.

WTO member countries do not want to give Russia a free pass, rather they
want to force Moscow to finally honor commitments it made many years ago
to improve economic cooperation as a market economy. And Russia would
benefit from a more flexible system involving trade of services and foreign
direct investment as a member of the WTO.

In what may be the best news yet, President Barack Obama offered the
Russian Federation his full support and advice in the accession process
during recent talks in Washington, D.C.

Russia agreed to accelerate the adoption of measures that would bring
Russia into conformity with the rules and norms of the WTO. Russia's
finance minister, Aleksei Kudrin, revealed at a news conference in Yalta that
his country had resolved longstanding trade disagreements with the United
States that had been holding up Russian membership. He reiterated that a
formal bid to join the trade body would be ready in two to four months so that
Russia could join the WTO in six months to a year after that period of time.
However, Russia's membership in the WTO is still not guaranteed due to
Russia's tumultuous trade disputes, failure to grant United States access to
poultry and pork and the lack of protection for intellectual property, including
protections for patented pharmaceuticals.

Once Russia joins the WTO, the United States will be required to repeal a
trade restriction (Jackson-Vanik) that was implemented during the Cold War
to urge the Soviet Union to allow emigration of Jews, and has in recent years
proved to be a diplomatic thorn. Even though emigration controls were
eliminated after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has
continued to keep the law on the books to leverage disputes.

American diplomats have gone on record saying that the law will be
repealed, which would give Russia permanent favored trade status, effective
upon Russia's entry into the WTO. However, Congressional repeal is not
assured because of the makeup of the next Congress. These new members
of Congress tend to be staunchly conservative on tax and trade policy and
represent communities in the Midwest and the South, where many jobs have
been lost due to increased global competitiveness and outsourcing.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Russia now recognizes the
strong economic role that China plays in the world community and does not
want to be overshadowed by such a global behemoth. Unlike China,
Russia's agricultural subsidies are already low, and Russia has agreed to
open its insurance and banking markets. The Economic Policy Institute
indicated that in 2006 alone, the trade gap with China resulted in the loss of
366,000 jobs in America; those individuals who retained their jobs had their
earnings decreased by roughly $1,400.

Moscow has repeatedly complained that it is being held to a higher standard
by the WTO regarding agriculture and the enforcement of intellectual property
rights compared to other countries, including China.
However, the real obstacle to Russian accession into the WTO is the lack of
mutual trust between Russia and the United States. Russian trade
negotiators fear that Americans will raise new concerns after all previous
outstanding issues have been resolved. Given the tone and the mindset of
some of the new members of Congress, who hail from areas with high
unemployment, such a belief is not without merit.

In 2009, American negotiators were surprised by Putin's assertion that
Russia's customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan had priority over its
WTO obligations. However, President Dmitry Medvedev has now made it
clear that Russia's entry into the WTO is the top priority. Russia's accession
will be decided politically by its leaders and any technicalities should be
addressed in the coming months.

Ralph E. Winnie, Jr., is the director of the Eurasian Business Coalition's China Program