Ensayos

Karel De Gucht


European Commissioner for Trade



Seizing the Opportunity: EU-Russia Relations beyond the WTO




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Seminar on EU-Russia Trade and Economic Relations, Helsinki, Finland
7 September 2012



Ladies and gentlemen,

The economic relationship between Russia and the countries to its West has always been as close as it has been complex.

The EuropeanUnion and Russia are global economic players, sitting on each other's doorsteps: We will always be valued economic partners.

But our differences have also made for a complicated relationship.

Russia is the largest producer of energy resources in the world; Europe is a major net importer of energy products.

Europe is the world's largest exporter of high-value-added manufactured goods andservices; Russia's trade is focused on primary products, like gas, ores and wood.

And the extent and the nature of the state's involvement in our economies is very different indeed.

As a result, our close cooperation has often been matched by deeply felt differences of opinion.

In fact, I think that both sides would agree that there is room for improvement in our relationship.

Russia'saccession to the World Trade Organisation two weeks ago presents a golden opportunity to make real progress.

If handled correctly, accession will deliver benefits that reinforce Russia's economy and reinforce Europe's close ties to it.

Membership can, first and foremost, help Russia intensify its economic growth.

Massive resources of energy and raw materials have brought huge wealth to ourneighbour in the East.

But no country wants to bet its future on the roulette wheel of the commodity markets.

Big changes can be unexpected. For instance, technology is transforming the natural gas industry, very likely meaning lower prices for a long time to come.

So Russia needs to broaden the base of its economic success. It already has companies with great prospects. But a widerdiversification of the economy into higher value-added areas will only come about if the framework conditions are right.

WTO membership can help put these conditions in place.

To start with, there are advantages for Russia of opening its own market.

It may seem surprising, but it is an economic fact that cheaper imports would benefit both Russian consumers and Russian businesses. Consumerswould have more purchasing power. Companies would have access to cheaper and higher quality inputs for their production, making them more competitive on the domestic market and internationally.

On top of this, competition from imports makes firms more efficient. In the European Union we have been able to measure this directly: every 1% increase in the ratio of imports to GDP delivers a 0.6%increase in labour productivity. Such an outcome would be very helpful for Russia, as barriers to entering important markets are very high and productivity is relatively low.

Changes in the regulatory area are equally significant.


All WTO members commit to certain principles about how to regulate agricultural, industrial and services markets. These principles include proportional action byregulators, the avoidance of discrimination, science-based regulation, and the protection of intellectual property rights.

Applying these principles would make the business environment in Russia more predictable. A predictable business environment would, in turn, encourage private investment from home and abroad. And that investment would help transform the Russian economy, by promoting technologytransfer, innovation and growth.

All of this would put Russia's companies in a better position to take advantage of the export opportunities of accession.

The steel industry will be among the first to benefit as we in Europe live up to our WTO commitments and dismantle our quota system for Russian imports. But other parts of the economy – the wider metals sector, the chemicals industry and...