VOA标准英语2011--Russia Aiming for WTO Membership by End of Year

Russia Aiming for WTO Membership by End of Year

 

Russia has been trying to join the World Trade Organization since 1993. Now Russian officials are saying they hope to become a member by the end of this year.

The 153-member World Trade Organization (WTO) is the agency overseeing the rules of international trade. It was founded in 1995, replacing an organization known as the General Agreement on Tariffs² and Trade (GATT).

Experts say to become a WTO member is a complex procedure. First, a country has to accept a whole series of agreements. They include a ceiling on tariff¹ levels governments can impose on various imported goods and another dealing³ with the protection of intellectual property. In addition to accepting all the WTO rules, a country then has to settle bilateral⁴ trade agreements with all the countries that so desire. And finally, a country has to change many of its economic and trade laws to make them conform to international standards.

The last country to join the Geneva-based WTO was Ukraine in 2008. Russia has been negotiating for 18 years.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin participate in a video conference with regional offices of the United Russia party, at the party's headquarters, Moscow, October 21, 2011.

David Christy, a lawyer [with the firm Thompson Hine] and trade expert who has helped governments with their WTO bids, says a country that wants to join and is serious in meeting WTO requirements can become a member within three to four years.

"When a country like Russia or China joins, it generally takes longer because the economy is so much more complex, but also because they are negotiating hard to minimize the obligations that they will be forced to undertake," said Christy. "And Russia was willing to put off its accession in order to ensure that the package of obligations it eventually accepts is as light as possible. And in that regard, kudos⁵ to them and their negotiators - I think they have done an excellent job. They have an exceedingly forceful negotiating style that tends to wear down other delegations⁶. And so they are willing to keep the negotiating process going for year, after year, after year," Christy added.

Anders Aslund, a Russia expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is a forceful advocate of Russia's WTO accession.

"He has been pushing it and substantial progress has been made in the last two years," said Aslund. "And the other period when there was substantial progress was the years 2000 to 2003 - President [Vladimir] Putin's first term. But in between, say between 2003 and 2010, very little progress was made."

Experts say one major obstacle remains⁷ to Russia's WTO membership and that is Georgia's opposition⁸ to it. Under WTO rules, any member can block a new country from joining simply by vetoing it, because the organization operates by consensus⁹.

Georgia has always strongly opposed Russia's support for the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow and Tbilisi fought a brief war over them in 2008. Russia now considers the two independent states, a status not accepted by the international community.

Anders Aslund says Georgia's opposition to Moscow's bid has to do with customs procedures between Russia and the two separatist regions.

"What the Georgians are demanding is that there is some kind of multilateral control over trade flows through these two territories, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. And Russia has resisted it," Aslund noted¹⁰.

David Christy says the real issue is that Russia is treating the breakaway regions as being completely separate from Georgia - which is strongly opposed by Tbilisi.

"So that trade, in Russia's view, would be flowing from Russia through South Ossetia [and Abkhazia] and then into Georgia," said Christy. "Whereas from Georgia's view, as soon as it crosses out of Russia, it's in Georgia as a matter of international law, even if Georgia doesn't fully¹¹ control that territory."

The United States has backed Russia's entry into the WTO while at the same time saying it will not pressure Georgia to change its view. Experts are divided as to whether Russia will be able to resolve its differences with Georgia by the December 15-17 WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva.

1 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

2 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 kudos   

n.荣誉，名声

参考例句：

• He received kudos from everyone on his performance.他的表演受到大家的称赞。
• It will acquire no kudos for translating its inner doubts into hesitation.如果由于内心疑虑不安而在行动上举棋不定，是得不到荣誉的。

6 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。