Within 220 days, the Russian Federation Duma must decide whether to ratify the protocol. 30 days after the protocol’s ratification, Russia will become a full member of the WTO (expected date: July 2012).

As part of joining the WTO, Russia will have certain commitments related to various sectors of the economy and international trade.

 

Tariffs on certain products will be lowered:

• Agricultural goods: from 15.6 to 11.2 percent (e.g. for milk, cream and butter, the rate decreases from 19.8 to 14.9 percent; for crops, from 15.1 to 10 percent);
• Industrial goods: from 9.3 to 6.4 percent;
• Medical goods: from 15 to 6.5 percent;
• Chemicals: from 10 to 6.5 percent;
• Light vehicles: from 25 to 15 percent;
• Home appliances: from 25 to 7-9 percent;
• Computers, components for manufacturing computers and hardware components: within three years, tariffs would be removed.

 

Commitments concerning services

• Insurance: foreign insurance companies will be permitted to open branches in Russia after the transition period;
• Alcohol: the government could monopolize the whole-sale of alcohol.

 

System-wide commitments

• Technical regulations: technical regulations will be simplified and developed based on international standards;
• Special economic zones: a transition period is provided for that will allow investors in Kalingrad and Magadan to continue to receive tax breaks;
• There will be a transition period that lasts until 1 July 2018 during which current industrial assembly regulations will be in force;
• Transparency: the Russian Federation will guarantee a certain level of transparency concerning foreign-trade legislation;
• Agriculture: upon joining the WTO, state subsidies for the agricultural sector will be USD 9 billion per year. Every year, state subsidies will decrease.

 

If you have any questions related to Russia’s joining the WTO, please contact us.