Russia and the WTO: The Work to be Done

In this brief memo, I will discuss Russian prospects for a successful relationship with the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the factors behind those prospects. By strengthening bilateral and multilateral trade relationships and by enhancing economic interdependency, successful Russian involvement with the WTO could be an important element of Russian stability within the international economic and security system. The WTO is an organization whose political and legal goal is free trade, or equivalently, lower barriers to trade. Regardless of other considerations that might lead to the WTO's acceptance of Russia's application for membership, the success of any country in its relationship with the WTO is wholly dependent upon its ability to lower barriers to trade and keep them low. […]

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