Stéphanie Noël Law Office at the WTO Public Forum – 2 October 2015

RussiaWTOStéphanie Noël Law Office would be pleased to welcome you to a working session on Russia’s WTO membership at the WTO Public Forum 2015:

How Russia & Russian businesses can reap maximum benefits from Russia’s WTO membership

2 October 2015, 9:00-10:30

Room E, World Trade Organization, 154 rue de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland

Organizers: Stéphanie Noël Law Office, Egorov Puginski Afanasiev & Partners

In August 2012, after 18 years of negotiations, the Russian Federation (“Russia”) became a Member of the WTO. Such accession and its consequences had been extensively commented and analyzed, but no clear consensus emerged on the benefits that Russia and Russian businesses would gain. It has been suggested that time is a key factor, and that long-term gains would prevail over short-term disadvantages.

Three years after accession, its effects have been felt differently across sectors. Some of them have reported little benefits, or are feeling worse off, and some have even called for their country to leave the WTO.

In this context, the proposed workshop aims at addressing the issue of how Russia and Russian industries could derive the most of WTO membership, and fully enjoy the benefits of trade liberalization. Moreover, Russia has been rather actively involved into the WTO dispute settlement system, including a number of disputes relating to trade in energy and raw materials. The approach to WTO dispute settlement in Russia both for the businesses and the Government remains extremely controversial. Ultimately, Russia has been actively announcing its possible WTO complaint against sanctions recently imposed against it, however, no complaint has been brought yet due to a number of reasons.

The panellists will take stock of the situation, 3 years after the accession, express their concerns and expectations, and will engage in an open discussion on how to better grasp the opportunities stemming from WTO membership.

Panellists:

  • Professor Aleksey Portanskiy, Professor, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, School of World Economy, Higher School of Economics;
  • Ms Marina Trunk-Fedorova, Senior Research Fellow, University of Kiel, Associate Professor, Saint-Petersburg State University Law School;
  • Mr Ivan Smirnov, Managing partner, Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, Saint-Petersburg;
  • Mr Vladimir Talanov, Head of International Trade Group, Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, Moscow;
  • Ms Wilhelmina Shavshina, Legal Director, Head of Foreign Trade Regulation, DLA Piper, Saint-Petersburg;
  • Mr Alexey Aronov, Legal Director, DLA Piper Moscow.

Practical information is available here