Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko (left) has completed a record long admissions process. Now he can help Russian break that record.
Photo: AP
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Ukraine Beats Russia into WTO
The decision was made yesterday at the general council session of the World Trade Organization in Geneva to accept Ukraine as a member of that organization. After the unanimous vote, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy signed the protocol. Ukraine may officially become the 152nd member state of the WTO this summer. It will also be a member of the working group on Russian accession. Ukraine had the longest accession process of any country, beginning in 1993, when the working group on its accession was founded.
Now an agreement on its accession, consisting of a full list of obligations between Ukraine and the WTO, must be introduced into the Supreme Rada and ratified by July 4. Then the country becomes a member of the WTO 30 days later.
Officially, Ukraine has no new demands of Russia. Its membership in the WTO gives it right to be involved in the membership processes of other states, however, which is a source of concern for Russia. The additional negotiations could slow down Russia's accession process as well. “Ukraine's accession to the WTO is not directed against any third parties, including Russia,” Ukrainian Deputy Premier Grigory Nemyrya told Kommersant.
Supreme Rada Committee on Taxation and Customs Policy chairman Sergey Terekhin acknowledged that Ukraine would have some demands of Russia. “First,” he said, “we are interested in the elimination of quotas on our exports – sugar, ethyl alcohol and wide-diameter pipes. The elimination of those quotas is scheduled for 2011, but that doesn't suit us. Second, we will insist on the elimination of duties on the export of Russian crude oil, since we see it as a form of subsidy for the domestic consumer. Besides that, Russia must bring its antimonopoly legislation into line with norms of the WTO GATT.”
That is apparently the minimum program for Russia, with the maximum being the creation of a free trade zone between the countries, as Yushchenko mentioned last week. The opposition admits that it cannot prevent the imposition of new demands on Russia.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 06, 2008
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