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Russia PM says Transpacific Partnership rules should be in line with WTO standards

According to Dmitry Medvedev, one cannot say now whether the free trade zone between Vietnam and Russia is a competitor to the Transpacific Partnership

Vietnamese and Russian Prime Ministers, Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Astakhov/Russian Government Press Office/TASS

Vietnamese and Russian Prime Ministers, Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Dmitry Medvedev

© Dmitry Astakhov/Russian Government Press Office/TASS

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MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. Rules of the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) should correspond to WTO standards instead of undermining international trade regimes, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday after talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

"The only point I would like to invite attention to is that it is highly important for us that rules of our free trade zone (we have no doubts in that) with Vietnam and the Transpacific Partnership on the other part should correspond to WTO regulations," Medvedev said.

One cannot say now whether the free trade zone between Vietnam and Russia is a competitor to the Transpacific Partnership. "Firstly, none of them has started working. Secondly, quite a lot of countries are taking part in establishment of the Transpacific Partnership. Let’s see what will be the result," Medvedev said.

The free trade zone agreement creates the market with the volume of 180 mln people within the Eurasian Economic Union’s framework, Medvedev said. "In any case, these partnerships are just forming and they will need to reach an appropriate level," he added.

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Trans-Pacific Partnership: US economy pulls blanket over itself

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