Emergency Committee For American Trade

ECAT Welcomes Market-Opening Bilateral Accession Package with Russia

Urges Continued Push for Strong Rules and Implementation through Multilateral Negotiations

Washington, D.C., November 10, 2006: Calman Cohen, President of the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), welcomed the conclusion in principle by the United States and the Russian Federation of a bilateral market-access package as part of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO):

“ECAT welcomes the conclusion in principle of a market-opening bilateral package with Russia that will reduce and eliminate major tariff and non-tariff barriers, providing new and concrete opportunities for all key sectors of the U.S. economy in the rapidly expanding Russian market.

“Based on public reports, Russia has agreed to major reductions in its tariffs on imports of consumer and manufactured goods. Barriers to agricultural access have also been dramatically reduced for key products, with significant reductions in tariffs and commitments to science-based sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Also critical are Russia’s commitments to open key service sectors of its economy, from financial services to distribution and telecommunications.

“Based on early reports, the overall bilateral agreement reached with Russia appears to be a strong, commercially meaningful and market-opening agreement that will expand opportunities for the United States. We look forward to reviewing closely the details of the agreement in all key areas.

“ECAT also looks forward to continuing to work with USTR as negotiations shift to the multilateral phase that will finalize Russia’s commitments to the key rules of the WTO. As part of the multilateral process, ECAT expects that Russia will commit to and implement strong rules on intellectual property, both in law and practice as agreed to in the U.S.-Russia binding blueprint, subsidies, transparency, customs administration, and a host of other issues. In joining the WTO, Russia will also be subject to the binding dispute settlement procedures that the United States helped create to ensure that each WTO member’s commitments are implemented.

“As this process goes forward, ECAT also believes it is critical for the Administration and Congress to start consultations on Russia’s graduation from the Jackson-Vanik provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, so that permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia can be provided at the appropriate time. With 146 million people, high GDP growth and strong consumer spending, Russia’s economy is an increasingly vital source of new opportunities, which the United States will not be able to take full advantage of without the authorization of PNTR upon Russia’s accession.

“ECAT applauds U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia, and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Dorothy Dwoskin and the entire U.S. government negotiating team for their strong efforts and perseverance in concluding this agreement.”

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Founded in 1967, ECAT is an organization of the heads of leading U.S. international business enterprises representing all major sectors of the American economy. Their annual worldwide sales total nearly $2.4 trillion and they employ approximately five and one-half million persons. ECAT’s purpose is to promote economic growth through the expansion of international trade and investment.

Attached Document(s): 11-10-06 ECAT Release on Russia WTO Bilateral.pdf