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The latest monthly estimate of global trade from the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, a Dutch research institute, suggested that trade volumes fell slightly in January. World Trade Organisation (WTO) The World Trade Organization (WTO) was founded in 1995 by the members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is the world’s only international organization that supervises 95% of the world’s global trade. It assists trade related issues of its member nations that produce, export and import goods and services in a smooth manner. Comprising 153 member nations, the agreements pertaining to the WTO have been signed and confirmed by respective member nations. The predecessor of WTO is General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). WTO is an International body dealing with the rules of trade among states and separate customs territories. The agreements in WTO provide the legal ground-rules for international trade and commerce. They are mainly contracts, binding governments to conduct their trade and trade policies according to principles and rules. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters and importers over the Globe and bringing them under one roof. The International body has over 148 members as on October 13,2004 accounting for 90% of the world trade and around 30 others are negotiating membership and are WTO observers. Members of the WTO include: All of North America; All of South America; Most of Europe, Australia Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the south Pacific regions. Why was WTO established? The WTO was founded with the purpose of liberalizing international trade. Its aim was to help member nations reach cordial solutions to their trade-related problems. The main principles of WTO are: To promote fair competition; To encourage economic and development reforms; To increase predictability through transparency; To lower trade barriers for freer trade; To ensure fair treatment to locals and foreigners; Objectives of the WTO With manifold objectives like helping trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably it has become capable of organizing trade and commerce over the Globe through the mantra of liberalization, privatization and globalization. It is stepping forward with objectives like: 1) Rejecting all forms of protectionism; 2) Removing trade barriers and eliminating discriminatory treatment in international trade through successive multilateral trade negotiations; 3) Providing a fair, predictable and open rule-based trading system through overseeing the implementation of multilateral trade rules and enforcing legally binding obligations; 4) Providing a mechanism for settling trade disputes; 5) Integrates developing and least developed economies into the world trading system; How the WTO Works? All important decisions are made by the Ministerial Committee which meets every two years. Trade disputes are resolved by the WTO through negotiations. In case any nation puts up trade barriers in the guise of customs duty against another country or for a specific good, the WTO can issue trade related sanctions against the violating country. Two basic functions of the WTO are: To confirm whether the agreements that have been covered are implemented, administrated and executed effectively; To settle negotiations and disputes by providing a forum check. The activities of WTO are managed by a Ministerial Conference that is held once in two years. Structure of the WTO WTO is run by its member nations. Decisions are taken by consensus among entire member nations. The WTO's top-level decision-making body is the ministerial conference, which meets at least once in every two years. Below this is the general council (normally represented by ambassadors and heads of delegation in Geneva, but sometimes officials sent from members' capitals), which meets several times a year in Geneva. The General Council also meets as the Trade Policy Review Body and the Dispute Settlement Body. At the next level there are three Councils each handling a different broad area of trade - the Council for Trade in Goods (Goods Council), the Council for Trade in Services (Services Council), and the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council). There are also specialized committees, working groups and working parties dealing with the individual agreements and other areas such as the environment, development, membership applications and regional trade agreements. They regularly report to the General Council, Goods Council and Services Council as appropriate. The WTO secretariat in Geneva has around 600 staffs and is headed by a director general. The WTO Secretariat's main duties are to provide administrative support for the running of the system. Achievements of WTO The WTO has several achievements as listed below: Enhanced the value and quantity of trade; Eradicated trade and non trade barriers; Broadened the trade governance scope to trade in investment, services and intellectual property; Emerged as a greater institution than GATT; Expanded the WTO agenda by including developmental policies; Eased settlement of disputes by enforcing improved rules; Improved monitoring by introducing the Trade Policy Review and the World Trade Report; Increased transparency by removing green room negotiations; Encouraged sustainable trade development; Challenges Ahead for WTO The WTO faces considerable challenges as listed below: Decision-making within the organization; Streamline reforms related to its dispute settlement system; Implement development-oriented policies in an effective manner; Facilitate global trade liberalization in agriculture and textiles; Encourage Non Governmental Organizations or NGOs to become an important part of world trade governance. Devise ways to increase staff and resources to ensure effective regulation. In the years 2008 and 2009, the WTO witnessed increased economic uncertainty. Its main function is to ensure the smooth and free flow of global trade. The WTO continues to administer agreements, handle trade disputes and monitors country-specific trade policies while training and cooperating with developing nations and other international organizations. No pain, no gain Chicken farmers and retailers in Russia are not particularly delighted about joining the World Trade Organization. But this is more about trade lanes and infrastructure and getting a bigger slice of global commerce, says Ben Aris. With ratification of the agreement for Russia to join the World Trade Organization, it becomes the last major economy to join the planet's premier trade club. But some are already asking who will get the most out of this deal - Russians or foreign investors? Depends on your perspective. In the short term, by making imports cheaper and easier, it will hurt the Russian economy more than it will help. But the Kremlin was careful to negotiate a phased accession that lends the weakest sectors some protection over the next seven years, allowing them to restructure before they are hit by the full force of unfettered trade. Foreign investors, on the other hand, win from day one. In joining the WTO, the Kremlin has made a number of concessions that will significantly increase competition from foreign investors in nearly all sectors of the economy. In the short term, benefits for Russia are also marginal. Because Russia is primarily a commodities exporter, the government says it will earn just US$2 billion extra from reduced tariffs. At the same time, billions of dollars' worth of new imports will hit the Russian market. So the Kremlin appears to have ceded much of the domestic consumer market to importers. But the bet is that importers will quickly turn into producers with local facilities, bringing badly needed technology and management. The Kremlin's commitment to allowing more foreign competition is clearest in retail, as 100 percent foreign-owned subsidiaries will be allowed to open forthwith. Russia didn't need to join the WTO to attract international retailers, though. Russia is already a top European consumer market, worth $649 billion in 2011, according to the Ministry of Finance; it grew 7.2 percent year-on-year, when most of the rest of the developed world is in recession. Foreign producers have made a string of high-profile deals, starting with PepsiCo's US$3.8 billion acquisition of leading dairy producer Wimm-Bill-Dann. Foreign manufacturers have also benefited in strategic sectors, but the concessions are being made on the Kremlin's terms. The Kremlin has used the seven-year exemption to WTO rules to force foreign manufacturers to accelerate their commitment to Russia. Five of the major international carmakers have made investment pledges that will exempt them from high non-WTO imports duties in exchange for dramatically increasing their output and sourcing 60 percent of their components domestically. Foreign car production jumped by 90 percent in the first quarter, reports Rosstat. The Kremlin has had an easier time protecting national interests in the financial sector. The financial crisis has cut bank-asset growth in half to 20 percent, which has significantly increased competition. The four biggest state-owned banks, including Sberbank and VTB Bank, already dominate the sector. So many late arrivals in Russia, such as HSBC and Barclays, have sold their retail arms and scaled back their operations. Still, even here the Kremlin has conceded that 100 percent foreign-owned banks will be allowed to operate in Russia in the future, something it has resisted for years. This will allow them to tap their parents' cheap financing. The Kremlin has kept a cap on foreign-bank assets in the sector at 50 percent (it is about 25 percent at the moment), but foreign insurance companies will be able to open fully-owned branches without restriction, although only nine years after accession. The biggest change will be in agriculture. Development is a high priority for the Kremlin. Agriculture import tariffs will be cut from 13.2 percent to 10.8 percent, but products in which Russia is trying to become self-sufficient, such as poultry and pork, are exempt from WTO compliance for eight years. Russia is already a major export destination for European producers and has attracted significant foreign investment. Local producers have been complaining about the impending competition. But that's the point, and it is working. Leading producers, particularly of pork and poultry, are rushing to build new factories. Analysts expect production to double over the next eight years, although profitability will fall as prices come down. Russia's biggest payoff will come from the more basic aim of WTO membership: bolstering trade so member countries can make more of their comparative advantages. In Russia, that advantage is clearly its geography. Globalization means international trade has been exploding over the last decade or so. The total volume of global trade in 1990 was equivalent to 39 percent of global GDP, but that has shot up dramatically to 61 percent in 2010 and will probably top 84 percent by 2030. That's according to a recent report issued by Citibank. Global trade volumes are expected to grow from US$37 trillion in 2010 to US$371 trillion in 2050, according to a report by Goldman Sachs. And Russia finds itself in the middle of the Europe- Asia trade corridor - the fastest-growing of the planet's supply lines. So the big picture behind Russia's inclusion in the WTO is in the end as much about logistics as import duties. The Kremlin has increased investment in infrastructure, which has gone from US$7 billion in 1999 to US$100 billion a year since 2008. That will continue until 2015. Investing in Russia's burgeoning transport role is where the most opportunities will be in the coming decade. After RF WTO accession duties on imports of confectionery products will be reduced After Russia WTO accession it will reduce duties on import of confectionery products, most of all on chocolate. The duty on imports of sugar confectionery products (containing sucrose less than 60%), which is currently 20% but not less than 1.2 euro per 1 kg, by 2015 it should be reduced by half - up to 10% but not less than 0 6 euro per 1 kg. The duty on imports of confectionery products (containing 60% sucrose) after Russia WTO accession will be 20% but not less than 0.5 euro per 1 kg, and by 2015 will decrease to 10% but not less than 0.38 euro per 1 kg. Deliveries of chewing gum in strips from 2015 will be subject to duty at a rate of 10% but not less than 0.6 euro per 1 kg, compared to 20% but not less than 1.09 euro per 1 kg, after Russia accession to the international trading community. The duty on imports of white chocolate will reduce to 20% but not less than 0.25 euro per 1 kg (currently and at the time WTO accession), up to 12% but not less than 0.15 euro per 1 kg in 2015 . Duty on import of lozenge from a sore throat and tablets from cough, which is currently 10% in 2015 will be reduced up to 7%. The duty on imports of boiled sweets with filling or without (20%, but not less than 0.25 Euros, currently on customs tariff of the Customs Union) since the WTO accession will not change, but by 2016 will reduce to 14%, but not less than 0.175 euro per 1 kg. Deliveries of other types of caramel and toffee (20%, but not less than 0.25 euro at present), after Russia WTO accession will be subject to duty at 20% but not less than 0.16 euro per 1 kg. In 2016 the duty rate will be 14% but not less than 0.13 euro per 1 kg. Meanwhile, currently a special duty on import of caramel to Russian Federation is of $ 294.1 per 1 tonne. It was introduced in June 2011 for a term of three years. Imports of chocolate candies, which are currently subject to duty at a rate of 20% but not less than 0.6 euro per 1 kg after Russia WTO accession will fall under the fee of 0.6 Euros per kg. Since 2016 it has reduced to 0.28 euro per 1 kg (2013 - 0.52 euro, in 2014 - 0.44 euro in 2015 - 0.36 euro per 1 kg). Russia’s parliament ratifies WTO entry Russia’s State Duma has ratified the agreement for Russia to join the World Trade Organization despite opposition inside the country. On Monday Russia's Constitutional Court ruled the WTO deal was in line with the country’s law. Russia, which used to be the largest economy outside the global trade organization would become a full member 30 days after ratification. The country reached the deal to enter the WTO last December after 18 years of negotiations. Under the agreement, Russia would reduce average import tariffs to 7.8% from 10% and open up investment in sectors such as telecommunications. Russian Minister of Economic Development Andrey Belousov revealed the country is expected to lose up to 445 billion roubles over two years due to reduced import duties. But they would be balanced by increased trade, he added. Much of these losses will pertain to the shortfalls from Russia’s import competing sectors, such as agriculture, textiles, Yaroslav Lissovolik, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Russia, told RT. “At the same time I think there will be substantial benefits emanating from the fact that export industries will also benefit from Russia’s WTO accession,” Lissovolik believes. “And there are also transition periods which may be as long as five or seven or nine years and the impact of these transition periods will soften the negative implications of Russia’s WTO accession.” Ealier this year over 130 MPs from the State Duma’s opposition factions appealed to the Constitutional Court saying the protocol on WTO entry not only violates Russian law, but also undermines the country’s economic security. The application to the court was signed by 90 Communists and 41 Fair Russia members. The Constitutional Court said on Monday that "the Protocol was signed and approved in a procedure that does not contradict the state's constitutional foundations. The court examined the document following a request by MPs from the State Duma’s leftist opposition factions. Leftists have held rallies in Moscow and other Russian cities opposing Russia’s joining WTO. Meanwhile more and more Russians have become wary of the WTO. Currently, 39 % of the population welcome Russia’s WTO membership, compared to 59% in May 2003, a poll revealed. However, the World Bank estimates Russian GDP growth could be 3.3% over the medium term and as much as 11% in the long term after joining the WTO. Russia’s accession to WTO – ‘a fair deal’? WTO membership will seriously hit a number of uncompetitive industries in Russia, such as agriculture and automobiles, as well as light industry and machine manufacturing. But EU trade commissioner, Karel de Gucht, has told RT it was a fair deal. “These were, I believe, fair negotiations,” he said. “I think it is a fair deal. And once you have concluded a deal, you should stop discussing the content of the deal.” De Gucht does not agree with the widespread opinion that Russia made too many concessions to get that seat in the WTO. “You have to negotiate with your own interest in mind, but also having in mind that the other party also needs to find its own interest in the negotiation,” he said. The concessions made today in the agriculture and automotive sectors will benefit the modernization of the industries in the long term, he believes. |