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Russia, US fail to reach WTO deal
ST. PETERSBURG: Russia and the US failed on Saturday to reach a deal on Russiaââ¬â¢s long-awaited entry to the World Trade Organisation, which both countries had hoped could get this weekendââ¬â¢s G8 summit off to an upbeat start.
But the two sides set an October deadline for a deal, potentially clearing the way for Russia to join the 149-nation trade group by next spring.
The US is the last big partner with which Moscow has still to reach a bilateral deal after 13 years of negotiations on WTO entry, while Russia remains the biggest economy yet to join the trade body.
Agreement could have helped highlight Russiaââ¬â¢s growing economic importance and cleared the way for Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, to announce its selected foreign partners in developing the massive Shtokman natural gas field - the biggest ever discovered - in the Barents Sea.
Shortlisted companies include Chevron and ConocoPhillips of the US.
While both sides have denied any linkage between a WTO agreement and Shtokman, Russia is thought to have put off an announcement on the gas development until its WTO membership is assured.
Susan Schwab, US trade representative, and German Gref, Russian economy minister, held three days of talks stretching into the early hours of Saturday in the hope of wrapping up a deal.
But agreement could not be reached in time for a Saturday morning meeting between US president George Bush and president Vladimir Putin of Russia.
ââ¬ÅWeââ¬â¢re tough negotiators, and the reason why is because we want the agreement that we reach to be accepted by the US Congress,ââ¬Â Mr Bush told a press conference.
Under pressure from Congress, the US administration has insisted Moscow make commitments to fight illegal duplication of films, music and software.
Anti-piracy groups say Russia is the second biggest source of pirated goods after China.
Ms Schwab said important progress had been made on intellectual property rights, and that negotiations on manufacturing tariffs were virtually complete.
Failure to reach a US-Russia trade agreement could complicate efforts to use the G8 summit to revive the flagging Doha round of global trade talks.
ST. PETERSBURG: Russia and the US failed on Saturday to reach a deal on Russiaââ¬â¢s long-awaited entry to the World Trade Organisation, which both countries had hoped could get this weekendââ¬â¢s G8 summit off to an upbeat start.
But the two sides set an October deadline for a deal, potentially clearing the way for Russia to join the 149-nation trade group by next spring.
The US is the last big partner with which Moscow has still to reach a bilateral deal after 13 years of negotiations on WTO entry, while Russia remains the biggest economy yet to join the trade body.
Agreement could have helped highlight Russiaââ¬â¢s growing economic importance and cleared the way for Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, to announce its selected foreign partners in developing the massive Shtokman natural gas field - the biggest ever discovered - in the Barents Sea.
Shortlisted companies include Chevron and ConocoPhillips of the US.
While both sides have denied any linkage between a WTO agreement and Shtokman, Russia is thought to have put off an announcement on the gas development until its WTO membership is assured.
Susan Schwab, US trade representative, and German Gref, Russian economy minister, held three days of talks stretching into the early hours of Saturday in the hope of wrapping up a deal.
But agreement could not be reached in time for a Saturday morning meeting between US president George Bush and president Vladimir Putin of Russia.
ââ¬ÅWeââ¬â¢re tough negotiators, and the reason why is because we want the agreement that we reach to be accepted by the US Congress,ââ¬Â Mr Bush told a press conference.
Under pressure from Congress, the US administration has insisted Moscow make commitments to fight illegal duplication of films, music and software.
Anti-piracy groups say Russia is the second biggest source of pirated goods after China.
Ms Schwab said important progress had been made on intellectual property rights, and that negotiations on manufacturing tariffs were virtually complete.
Failure to reach a US-Russia trade agreement could complicate efforts to use the G8 summit to revive the flagging Doha round of global trade talks.
