Russia, U.S. reach deal on WTO entry

WASHINGTON —  A longtime economic goal of Russia -- entry into the World Trade Organization -- moved a crucial step forward Friday as U.S. and Russian trade negotiators reached agreement.

It took 12 years of negotiations to get to this point, and details are still being nailed down. Both countries are hopeful that a bilateral pact can be signed next week in Vietnam, where President Bush and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin will be attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

About four months ago, the U.S. and Russia had appeared on the verge of an agreement, but it failed to materialize -- right before the summit of leaders of the world’s wealthiest countries in St. Petersburg, Russia. The collapse strained relations between Washington and Moscow.

Russia is the largest economy still outside the 149-nation WTO, which sets the rules for global trade. Putin’s government sees membership as a way to show that his country has regained financial muscle since its economic crisis in 1998.

Even if a formal agreement is signed next week, there are other steps that still would have to be taken before Russia could become a member. Clearing those will take time -- perhaps a year or two, some experts say. Others think it could be done sooner.

Membership in the WTO would mean that Russia would receive the same favorable tariff rates for its products as other members. Other countries also would have to follow WTO rules in trade disputes with Russia. And Russia -- a big exporter of oil and natural gas -- would have to abide by WTO’s trade rules.

In theory, freer trade would give Russian companies more opportunities to sell their goods on world markets, and WTO membership for Russia might make its sizable market of potential customers more attractive to companies in the U.S. and elsewhere, experts said.

“Businesses would feel more comfortable, more at ease doing business in Russia because there would be rules,” said Oscar Gonzalez, an economist at John Hancock Financial Services.

Terms of the U.S.-Russia agreement weren’t released. But the two sides have been working for years to resolve differences over such issues as piracy of U.S. goods and intellectual property rights, sales of American agricultural products to Russia and U.S. access to the country’s banking and insurance sectors.

“We have an agreement in principle and are finalizing the details,” U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab said. “It is a clear indication of Russia’s efforts to participate fully in and benefit from the rules-based global trading system.”

Schwab said she and her counterpart, Russian Economics Minister German O. Gref, hope to sign the pact in Hanoi.

Bush will meet with Putin next week in Moscow. Russia’s WTO bid probably will be discussed, said the Kremlin’s deputy spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.