Introduction
For a long time, Russia has been trying to become a member of the World Trade Organization. Russia’s efforts have however been thwarted by European Union members who felt that the country was not sincere in its bid. However, this situation is about to change if recent reports are anything to go by. According to a report published in a recent publication of the New York Times, negotiators drawn from Russia and the European Union block have reached a consensus regarding trade, which has been the biggest hindrance to Russia’s bid. According to the report, this marks an important step toward the realization of Russia’s plans. (Roskin, & Berry, 2010)
Blocking of Russia’s bid by European nations
Initially, Russia began showing an interest of joining W.T.O in 1993. As the years progressed, the country began showing little interest of joining the 153-country organization. This lack of enthusiasm was not lost on Western nations who wanted to draw Russia into the organization due to the role that the country can play as an emerging economy. In the recent months, Russia has been showing its interest of wanting to join the organization once again.
Unlike in the past, its fresh bid has received wide support from high-ranking Western officials. One of these leaders is President Obama who since his election two years ago has been doing anything possible to improve ties with Russia. The biggest reason why the West has been trying to incorporate Russia into the W.T.O. has been to ensure that they control the country’s trade as stipulated in the organization’s articles of association. On top of this, getting Russia to join the W.T.O. is believed to have the possibility of increasing confidence for Western investors. (Castle, 2010)
Arriving at a consensus
According to officials, the recent talks created a common ground that is supposed to be adopted by leaders from all the present nations. During the meeting, the two sides were able to resolve the existing differences regarding levies on the export of unrefined materials, which include timber and other goods transported by rail. During the meeting, Russia agreed to scrape timber tariffs, which some member countries had opposed. However, Russia is approaching the matter cautiously and it only agreed to phase out these tariffs once its ascension to the W.T.O. was ratified.
Russian’s are optimistic that if the talks bear fruit, it will go a long way in helping them build their economy. This year alone, Russia has been seen to relax its stance regarding trade with its neighboring countries like Poland. The West has translated this as willingness to trade with other nations in the block. Despite this breakthrough, Russia has to accent to other important issues before its proposal is accepted. Analysts believe that the biggest challenge that Russia has to resolve is bettering its bilateral relations with Ukraine and Georgia. (Castle, 2010)
Conclusion
Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization has been going on for a long time. However, its bid has continually been frustrated by European nations, which have been opposed to Russia’s policy on trade. As the years went by, Russia seemed to recede on its quest to join the organization. In the recent past, Western officials led by the American President have been trying to foster good relations between their countries and Russia. This is being done in a bid to encourage foreign investors to invest in Russia, which is seen as a key player in global trade. By joining the W.T.O., the Western officials are hoping that they will be able to boost foreign investor confidence.
References
Castle, S. (2010, November 25). Russians Step Closer to Joining W.T.O. New York Times. Web.
Roskin, M., & Berry, N. (2010). The New World of International Relations. San Francisco: Longman, Pearson Education.