Russia and the WTO: We have liftoff

Holy smokes, it actually looks like Russia will join the World Trade Organization. After an on-again, off-again application process that has lasted almost two decades, the last pieces are falling into place. Russia and Georgia have reportedly inked a deal that has satisfied Georgia’s concerns. As a WTO member and a participant in the committee ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Holy smokes, it actually looks like Russia will join the World Trade Organization. After an on-again, off-again application process that has lasted almost two decades, the last pieces are falling into place. Russia and Georgia have reportedly inked a deal that has satisfied Georgia's concerns. As a WTO member and a participant in the committee considering Russia's application, Georgia has the power to block Russia's bid. Reuters reports:

Holy smokes, it actually looks like Russia will join the World Trade Organization. After an on-again, off-again application process that has lasted almost two decades, the last pieces are falling into place. Russia and Georgia have reportedly inked a deal that has satisfied Georgia’s concerns. As a WTO member and a participant in the committee considering Russia’s application, Georgia has the power to block Russia’s bid. Reuters reports:

Russia signed a Swiss-brokered deal with Georgia on Wednesday that removes the last big obstacle to Russia joining the World Trade Organisation after 18 years of negotiations.

Russia’s accession will be the biggest step in world trade liberalisation since China joined the WTO a decade ago, sealing Moscow’s integration into the world economy two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The breakthrough after three years of stalemate with Georgia came at the last possible moment, one day before the WTO meets to finalise overall terms for Russia’s entry.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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