American Companies Push for Russia's WTO Accession
// But No Success So Far
Last week, the leaders of 13 large American companies sent a letter to US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin with the request that Russia's accession to the WTO be expedited. The letter, an attempt to counterbalance negative news from the negotiations between Russia and the US on the topic of the WTO, was an initiative by the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. Judging by the fact that the text of the letter was not made public, the companies appear to have little hope that the talks will succeed, and they are now hoping for a political resolution of the WTO issue by the presidents of the two countries.
According to information obtained by Kommersant, the letter was prepared by the American Chamber of Commerce and signed by the top managers of 13 large companies, including Shell, Ford, and Boeing. Yesterday evening Alexander Kravtsov, director of external relations for the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham Russia), confirmed to Kommersant that the letter was sent to George Bush and Vladimir Putin on Thursday. "This is a personal letter to the presidents of the two countries, which was signed by the leaders of 13 of the largest American enterprises that have [business] interests in Russia," he explained.
AmCham Russia is the division of the Chamber of Commerce in Russia. The organization was founded on the basis of the ABC American business club in 1994 and is now led by Andrew Somers, who until 1995 was the vice president of American Express TSR Group. AmCham Russia currently has around 800 American member companies who do business in Russia or who have trade circulation in the country.
According to Mr. Kravtsov, the basic premise of the document is a call to "the swift signing of a commercially justifiable two-sided agreement" concerning Russia's accession to the WTO. Mr. Kravtsov declined to comment on what "commercially justifiable" means for businesses in Russia and on the list of companies whose leaders signed the letter. He explained that it was impossible not only to obtain a copy of the letter but even to establish the identities of the 13 signatories because the signatories themselves have not given their permission.
Boeing-Russia/CIS president Sergei Kravchenko confirmed for Kommersant that the company's top management had signed the letter. "Boeing's leadership has always been one of the main supporters of Russia's entry into the WTO," he said. In the opinion of Maksim Medvedkov, the head of the department of trade negotiations for the Russian Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, the letter confirms that there are more supporters than opponents of Russia's entry into the WTO: "This is a signal that reflects the true relationship of American business to our WTO accession." According to Mr. Medvedkov, the signatories of the letter include "bankers and suppliers of financial services." "These are large companies, who have significant shares in trade and investment," he said.
To the question of whether the letters would influence the course of negotiations between the United States and Russia, Mr. Medvedkov replied, "it is difficult to understand that right now. After all, there have been other letters that are not so positive." In his opinion, the main thrust of the missive to the presidents was a confirmation that "[our] American partners support the efforts of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development and are focused on expediting the conclusion of the negotiations." A source familiar with the contents of the letter, speaking from within one of the companies that signed it, told Kommersant that the document contains no specifics: "The letter has no concrete economic basis; every company in Russia has its own interests. The letter is general and concerns the business climate as a whole."
The most recent round of Russian-American bilateral talks concerning the WTO was concluded yesterday in Washington with no obvious success. According to Mr. Medvedkov, "dialog is [already] being revived" today by teleconference. The timing of the letter means that it could not have directly influenced the recent proceedings: its effect, if any, will be visible in the talks between the Russian and American presidents scheduled for the eve of the APEC summit in Hanoi on November 18-19. Observers speculate that the letter may have been timed to reduce tensions in the run-up to the summit, with hopes that the long-awaited agreement may be signed in Hanoi or, at the very least, that Vladimir Putin will withdraw his demand that the WTO talks be completed before the end of October. However, it is raising eyebrows that AmCham, a public lobbying organization, is keeping the contents of the letter secret.
Alvina Kharchenko, Sergei Ryzhkin, and Dmitri Butrin
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 30, 2006
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