Russian lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament
ratified Moscow’s WTO accession protocol on Tuesday, bringing the world’s
largest economy outside the WTO one step closer toward becoming the global
trade body’s 156th member.
The accord passed in the lower chamber, known as the
State Duma, by a vote of 238-208, with one abstention and three not present.
The accord next goes to the upper chamber of parliament for adoption, after
which it will be sent to President Vladimir Putin for signature, both of which
are largely seen by trade observers as formalities.
Moscow has a 23 July deadline to notify the global trade
body that it has passed the deal. Thirty days after this notification, Russia’s
WTO membership will be final.
Tuesday’s vote came on the heels on a Monday ruling by
Russia’s Constitutional Court upholding the accession package’s consistency
with Russian law. Opposition lawmakers from Communist and Just Russia parties
had challenged the constitutionality of the accession protocol, claiming a
breach in procedural issues surrounding the bill. Despite the protests, the
court’s ruling was unanimous.
With the country expected to become a full WTO member by
summer’s end, Russian officials have said that they will push strongly for
their country’s interests once Moscow becomes part of the Geneva-based trade
body.
Russia’s impending summer accession to the WTO follows a
process that began in 1993. After completing the long series of negotiations
with current members, Russia received its invitation to join the WTO at the
trade body’s ministerial conference last December.
The nearly 700-page accord detailing the agreement
between Russia and current WTO members reflected the difficulty of the
accession process, the global trade body’s most
complex to date.
The World Bank estimates that WTO membership will boost
Russian economic growth by 3.3 percent in the medium term and as much as 11
percent in the long run.
Domestic divisions persist over accession benefits
Meanwhile, public opinion within Russia continues to
appear divided over the benefits of WTO membership. Proponents of the accession
cite stability and clarity in foreign trade regulation and improved quality of
consumer goods and services due to increased competition as among the benefits
of the move. Those in favour also contend that
membership will improve Russia’s business climate and lead to greater foreign
investment in domestic industry.
With the ratification deadline fast approaching, however,
domestic dissent - both popular and political - has grown in recent months.
Protesters gathered Tuesday outside the State Duma to lobby against the accord,
which has also drawn criticism from Russia’s opposition parties, on the grounds
that WTO accession could lead to a weakening of national sovereignty and harm
to domestic industry.
US trade, human rights debate continues
With Russia’s WTO accession on the immediate horizon, US
lawmakers have spent the last few months engaged in intense debate over whether
to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a Cold War-era
law denying most-favoured nation (MFN) status to
countries with limited freedom of emigration. Though Washington has granted
Moscow waivers from the amendment since the early 1990s, leaving the original
legislation in place could put US exporters at a serious disadvantage to their
foreign competitors, who unlike the US would immediately enjoy the benefits of
Russia’s membership in the global trade body.
Debate in Washington surrounding the Jackson-Vanik repeal has centred around
whether permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) should be established with
Moscow at all - given that some lawmakers fear that the US could lose leverage
with Russia in other policy areas - and, if so, should the removal of these
trade restrictions be linked to a proposed bill that would sanction Russian
officials for alleged human rights violations.
US lawmakers are currently divided on whether the trade
and human rights bills should be linked, with Obama administration officials
arguing against tying the two bills together.