Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-10-25-Speech-4-526-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20121025.35.4-526-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, firstly I would like to say that the European Commission agrees with many points of the present European Parliament’s draft resolution on Russia’s accession to the WTO. Although the WTO accession process of Russia was long, the results are impressive. Our exporters will now find it easier to access Russian markets. Reductions in customs duties will mean savings of EUR 2.5 billion a year. Our services industries will also have easier access – particularly in finance, telecommunications and retail. Moving goods across the border will be eased with the new rules on customs valuation, fees and transit procedures. Russian export duties on many raw materials have been capped and will be reduced for key inputs like wood, and we will have a more predictable regulatory environment for our investment in Russia.
However, Russia has taken a number of protectionist measures that cause great concern – both in terms of Russia’s willingness to play by the rules of the WTO and of their significant negative impact on the EU economy. For example, Russia’s decision on levying so-called ‘recycling fees’ on imported vehicles is problematic, because it discriminates against European producers and infringes the most basic WTO rules, and duties on cars are now higher than before Russia’s WTO accession.
Russia’s ban on live pig imports is a clear case of a regulatory measure acting as a tool of trade protection, lacking any valid scientific basis, and is disproportionate to the issues it seeks to address.
We have identified a list of more than 300 products with discrepancies between the applied import duties and the agreed tariffs in the WTO, and in most cases giving least-favourable treatment to EU exporters in sectors like paper, agriculture, automotive products and textiles. Lastly, the preferential export duties for our wood imports from Russia agreed upon prior to WTO accession are still not in place. We will start by trying to find agreed solutions, failing which we will not hesitate to enforce our WTO rights if they are violated.
The Commission takes note of the European Parliament’s Policy Study on Russia’s WTO accession, which correctly concludes that membership of the WTO is only a starting point for the sustained and diversified growth of the Russian economy. What is needed is a thorough reform of the domestic economy and business environment.
Only Russia can choose to pursue such a reform, but the EU is willing to help through a new framework agreement. In this context, the European Commission is not asking for new market access commitments. However, there is scope to break new ground on a range of regulatory issues, and Europe has one of the world’s most advanced regulatory regimes and useful experience to share.
This agenda is complicated by the creation of a customs union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The European Commission’s priority remains to develop our bilateral trade relations with Russia first, as it is the only WTO member among these three countries, and the political situation in Belarus remains a serious matter of concern."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples