USTR: Russia Meets Letter, Not Spirit of Its WTO Membership

Tariff reductions implemented by Russia as part of their joining the WTO have been as they agreed but other non-tariff barriers undermined market access, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in an assessment of Russia's activities.Tariffs were reduced on a host of products, from aircraft to chemicals and agricultural products and now has the final tariff rates agreed to in its 2012 WTO accession protocol for 90% of its tariff lines, USTR said, but added the country has deployed non-tariff barriers via customs regulations, subsidies and price controls."Reaping the benefits of Russia's WTO membership is becoming increasingly difficult as Russia rejects the trade liberalizing tenets of the WTO in favor of inward-looking, import-substitution economic policies," USTR said.