MOSCOW, November 21 (Itar-Tass) — President Vladimir Putin said Russia has been facing increased risks after accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) due to crisis tendencies in global markets.
“Crisis tendencies in global markets have increased the risks related to the obligations we have assumed, primarily those to reduce import duties for certain goods,” Putin said at a meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday, November 21.
Russia’s joining the World Trade Organization does not mean the Russian government will relinquish support of the national economy, President added.
“More complex and flexible regulation instruments including a broad application of protective, compensational and antidumping measures will be needed,” Vladimir Putin stressed.
“Russian businessmen complain over the excessively dragged-out procedures and the indecisiveness of the agencies empowered to take protective steps.” In the meantime, it is worthwhile learning from the WTO old-timers “who act with much sophistication and don’t violate anything,” he said.
Vladimir Putin ordered the Labour Ministry and economic ministries and agencies to conduct comprehensive analysis of the consequences of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for the domestic labour market.
Speaking at a meeting of the Security Council, Putin demanded “concrete suggestions to be submitted within the next couple of weeks on how to reduce the negative effects”.
He noted that in the last ten years “the level of unemployment in Russia has been constantly decreasing and was a mere 8.4 percent even in the pre-crisis year 2009 and now it does not exceed 5.2 percent of the economically active population”.
“We must preserve these positive tendencies and prevent a decrease in employment in company towns and regions where industries from the risk group have their large enterprises,” the president said.
President Vladimir Putin instructed the Ministry of Economic Development to make arrangements for issuing an information-analytical bulletin on WTO-related issues.
“A matter of principle importance is that all basic information on our economic performance within the WTO should be open and accessible to national business. I ask the Ministry of Economic Development to organise the publication of an electronic information-analytical bulletin on WTO-related issues,” Putin said at a meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday, November 21.
He also asked the ministry to post the materials on its official website.
“Russia will continue to integrate itself into the global economy,” the president stressed. “We are engaged in negotiations on accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and hope to become it full member shortly,” he said.