WTO accession requires a long process of negotiations and serious changes to the national laws of applying countries.
As one of the major players in the international arena, Russia is interested in joining the WTO. However, after ten years, it has still not been able to provide the necessary prerequisites for accession.
In fact, Russia was scheduled to join the WTO late in 2005, but its accession was delayed due to some political and technical problems. Considering Russia’s differences with the United States, it is thought that Moscow will not be allowed to join the WTO in 2006, either.
The U.S. is currently blocking Russian accession to the WTO in order to pressure Moscow to acquiesce to U.S. policies and provide economic concessions.
The United States is even insisting that Russia allow foreign banks to establish branches in the country, and this has led to an impasse in the economic negotiations between the two countries.
Tariffs and strategies to prevent artificial deflation are some of the other issues which have not been resolved.
The United States is also demanding that Russia artificially reduce energy prices, although this is not included in the framework of WTO membership negotiations.
Washington is clearly seeking to use the WTO accession talks with Moscow to further its interests and is focusing its efforts on blocking Russian membership in the WTO until Moscow has neoliberalized the country and eliminated all restrictions on non-governmental organizations and the media.
The human rights issue, Russia’s refusal to follow the U.S. line, and Moscow’s policy toward Iran’s nuclear program are some of the other obstacles to Russia joining the WTO.
According to WTO regulations, major producers and consumers hold regular negotiations.
Thus, the four economic powers of the WTO, i.e., the United States, the European Union, Canada, and Japan, attend these economic negotiations and wield undue influence in the WTO. For example, over 90 percent of the disputes in the WTO have been settled to the benefit of the United States.
Consequently, non-member countries require the support of one of the four economic powers in order to facilitate their accession to the organization.
Moscow is not close to any of these four economic powers, so Washington can block Russian membership in the WTO at will.
Will Russian officials allow their country to be neoliberalized, or will they stand up for their rights? The world is waiting to see the answer to that question.
SA/HG
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MNA
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