New York Times (October 2, 2010)

After 17 Years, Russia Resolves U.S. Objections for Entry Into W.T.O.

MOSCOW — Russia’s finance minister said Friday that his country had resolved outstanding trade disagreements with the United States that had been holding up Russian membership in the World Trade Organization. Russia has sought entry to the W.T.O. since soon after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

An agreement would wrap up 17 years of negotiations on issues ranging from frozen chicken to intellectual property, and move Russia, now the largest country outside the W.T.O., a big step closer to joining.

While American backing would not ensure Russia’s entry, Washington’s opposition would make it impossible. “Today, I can say that with the U.S. we have settled all issues related to Russia’s accession to the W.T.O.,” Russia’s finance minister, Aleksei L. Kudrin, said in comments carried by Russian news agencies from a conference in Yalta, in Ukraine.

Mr. Kudrin said a formal bid to join the trade body would be ready in two to four months. Russia could join from six months to a year after that, he said.

Later Friday, after President Dmitri A. Medvedev and President Obama talked by phone, the Russian presidential press service confirmed that substantial progress had been made, but stopped short of saying a final deal had been reached.

The White House issued a statement Friday acknowledging “the substantial progress that Russia and the United States have made in completing negotiations.” It said that President Obama “pledged to support Russia’s efforts to complete remaining steps in multilateral negotiations so that Russia could join the W.T.O. as soon as possible.”

The administration’s apparent willingness to help usher Russia into the W.T.O. would be another touchstone in a wider give-and-take on matters of world import between Russia and the United States, under an administration policy known as the reset.

President Medvedev, for example, recently compromised on longstanding Russian policy toward Iran, putting on indefinite hold a major antiaircraft missile sale to that country that the United States had opposed.

But membership in the W.T.O. is still not certain for Russia, which has had thorny trade relations with several countries. There have repeatedly been false starts in Russia’s membership bid over the years.

The Russians have been bargaining for entry longer than any country ever, including China, which was admitted in 2001.

Under the rules of the W.T.O., which sets standards for customs and tariffs policies, Russia must now turn its attention to smaller trading partners like Georgia. It is already in the W.T.O., has veto power, and has been subjected to a de facto Russian embargo on wine, produce and mineral water for years.

Several Russian trade disputes with the United States festered, too. Russia’s accession was eased by new regulations adopted here on intellectual property rights, including protections for patented pharmaceuticals.

For the deal to close, Washington and Moscow also had to settle disputes on trade rules for Russian state companies, agricultural subsidies and inspection procedures for frozen chicken parts, a major headache for negotiators and an emotional issue here.

The United States began bulk exports of chicken to Russia as food aid in the early 1990s; the frozen thighs became known as “Bush legs,” after the first President Bush.

Russia, which for a time became the largest importer of American chicken, has since periodically blocked that trade, ostensibly for health reasons. In the meantime, the Russians have built a robust local poultry industry.

If Russia joins the W.T.O., the United States will be compelled to repeal a cold war-era trade restriction that was intended to encourage the Soviet Union to allow Jewish emigration. Though emigration controls fell away with the collapse of Communism, the United States had kept the law on the books as leverage over disputes like the chicken fight. But that law would violate W.T.O. rules if Russia were a member.

American diplomats have said they will seek to repeal this rule, the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, and grant Russia permanent favored trade status that would become effective upon Russia’s entry in the W.T.O. But many in Washington say that Congressional repeal is not assured.