Cable: 'Russia in WTO is good for business'

Following 18 years of negation, Russia has joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). The announcement that Russia was to become the 156th member of the WTO was met with adulation from much of the world’s economies and is good news for the profession as Russia grants greater access to European companies and introduces a host of other measures to bring it into line with WTO trading procedures.

The business secretary Vince Cable has told Project that Russia’s entry was good news for British business.

He said: “The UK welcomes President Putin’s signing of the Russian Federation’s Protocol of Accession to the WTO, which completes their ratification process to join the WTO.

“Russian membership is a big vote of confidence in the WTO as a truly global organisation. We are confident that membership will be good for both Russia and for the WTO. It will also be good for the UK and global economy by making it easier for firms to do business in Russia and by bringing Russia fully into the ambit of the WTO’s mechanisms for ensuring openness and predictability in world trade.”

The relaxed and more collaborate measures that will result in Russia’s inclusion should make it a much more accessible and predictable market for foreign companies. It will get easier access to international markets and should see an increase in foreign investment.

The business secretary added: “The UK is keen to strengthen our existing trade relationship. UK exports to Russia were £4.78bn in 2011, an increase of 39 per cent on 2010. We look forward to working closely with Russia in the context of the WTO with the goal of supporting further trade liberalisation to our mutual benefit."

In numbers:

£85bn
of goods and services are exported to Russia from the EU every year, making it the third biggest trading partner of the EU

£158bn
of goods and services are exported from Russia to the EU every year, £102bn of which is oil

50.2%
of Russian imports come from the EU. China accounts for 14.1 per cent, Ukraine for 5.3 per cent and Japan for 3.8 per cent

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