July 17, 2006

Russia, US fail to reach WTO deal

Russia's record on protection of intellectual property rights is no longer an obstacle to its entry to the World Trade Organization, Minister for Economic Development and Trade German Gref said Saturday (Jul 15).

Gref told journalists that in their--ultimately unsuccessful--efforts to reach a deal ahead of the summit of the Group of Eight leading countries, Russian and US trade negotiators "drew up a list of sectors which we agreed would not be reopened, and intellectual property rights was on it".

Gref said the talks between the two countries broke down over differences on the issue of beef and pork imports, with Russian veterinary experts still unconvinced of the safety of US refrigeration and freezing techniques.

"There is an element of frustration," Gref said. "The US is never going to be a major supplier of meat to our market, because it has a lot of stiff competition."

He noted that the talks had stalled on an issue that affected "tens of millions of dollars in trade," denying a stable legal framework to billions of dollars in trade in other sectors that would be possible if Russia were in the WTO.

Russia is the largest economy still outside the WTO, and the US is the last of its major trading partners still to conclude a bilateral deal with it over the terms of its accession. Hopes had risen ahead of this week's summit that a deal could be struck.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin also waded into the impasse in global trade talks, calling on rich nations to do more to cut agricultural subsidies and remove trade barriers, to help poor countries.