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Bush to Back WTO Seat for Russia
The Bush administration, still looking to create closer economic ties with Russia, says it wants to see the former communist country become a member of the World Trade Organization as soon as possible.
But Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, just back from a fact-finding trip to Russia, said Russia will have to lower trade barriers that are being used to protect inefficient state-run enterprises and make other free market reforms before joining the WTO.
The Bush administration, in an effort to get away from the huge loan packages extended by the West to prop up Russia over the past decade, has been emphasizing Russian economic reforms to improve the country's ability to attract private investment.
President George W. Bush also sees increased engagement on the economic front as a way to lessen Russian concerns about his plans to proceed with building a missile defense shield.
Evans said that his discussions with Russian officials and business leaders had left him feeling more optimistic about the progress being made toward reform. Putin has made membership in the 141-nation WTO, the Geneva-based body that sets the rules for global trade, a key goal for his government. But in June, Russian negotiators complained that the WTO was making ``excessive demands.''
Evans said he and O'Neill told the Russians that ``we want to do everything we can to assist them and encourage them. ... We want to stay focused on results and moving this along as quickly as possible.'' Evans refused to speculate on when Russia might complete negotiations for WTO membership. China, which faced many of the same economic hurdles as Russia, is expected to win WTO membership in the fall, capping a 15-year-long quest.
O'Neill and Russian officials held preliminary discussions on the possibility of creating investment zones in the country. Officials in these smaller regions would be charged with changing the courts and bureaucracies to give foreign investors more confidence that contracts and laws would be enforced.
Bush, speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, said he intended to continue pushing for the negotiating authority ``to make sure that America is involved in the world, that we don't miss out on opportunities.'' Meanwhile, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick announced at a ceremony with officials from Mexico and Canada that the countries had reached an agreement to make more information public when government regulations are challenged under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Opponents had charged that NAFTA complaints were being kept secret, even when they represented challenges by foreign companies to a nation's health and safety regulations.
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