As expected, the eighth Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization which took place December 15-17, 2011 in Geneva produced no breakthroughs on the Doha Round negotiations. However, the 42 parties to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) did agree to update and expand the GPA. In addition, all parties agreed to extend WTO membership offers to Russia, Samoa, and Montenegro. They also reached agreement on seven issues described below related to least developed economies, intellectual property rights, electronic transmissions, and small economies.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The International Trade Administration has highlighted its work towards accomplishing the President's National Export Initiative (NEI) goal of doubling exports by the end of 2014. The ITA states there has been a 25 percent growth in exports since the launch of the NEI in January 2010. ITA also notes that just in 2011, there have been six record-breaking months of exports (January, March, April, July, August, and September). ITA states this is a trend that will continue as long as U.S. companies are finding buyers and partners in markets such as Brazil, India, Korea, and Russia.
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases on December 15-16, 2011 (notices of most significance will be given separate headlines):
The Government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices for Dec 15-16, 2011 (note that some will also be given separate headlines):
The World Trade Organization (WTO) posted the following notices from December 16, 2011 (may have to click twice on source documents for proper viewing):
The International Chamber of Commerce released a study on December 16, 2011 which shows that the support for open trade pledged by G20 countries at the end of the Summit in Cannes was not matched by their recent performance as G20 countries only ranked average out of 75 countries for their openness to trade. The most open of the G20 countries is Germany, followed by the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, France and Australia. The U.S. ranked roughly in the middle of the sample at number 39, followed closely by Japan at number 43. Brazil ranked last out of the G20 countries. The five other G20 countries with “below average openness”, according to the Index, were China, Mexico, Russia, Argentina and India.
On December 13, 2011, Mexico's Minister of Economy Bruno Ferrari and Russia's Minister of Education and Science met at the fifth meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic, Trade, Scientific-Technical and Maritime Transport between Mexico and Russia. At the meeting, both countries agreed on the importance of avoiding the adoption of new protectionist measures that restrict international trade, including those that contravene the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles. The countries also strengthened the legal framework for mutual cooperation in customs, shipping, etc. and announced cooperation agreements on nuclear energy, mutual recognition and revalidation of certificates, and other areas.
According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Trade Ministers meeting at the eighth World Trade Organization Ministerial meeting in Geneva will extend a formal invitation to Russia to join the WTO on December 16, 2011. USTR Kirk states that he has congratulated Russia on reaching this achievement and discussed with Minister Nabiullina the determination of President Obama and the Administration to work vigorously with the U.S. Congress to enact legislation enabling the U.S. to fully benefit from Russia’s membership when Russia does accede to the WTO following its domestic ratification procedures. Additionally, Ambassador Kirk raised a number of trade issues on which the U.S. particularly hopes to work closely with Russia in the coming months, including in the areas of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and enforcement of intellectual property rights. USTR Kirk's full statement available here.
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation senior officials gathered in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 13, 2011 to set their priorities for 2012 aimed at boosting growth in trade and investment in Asia-Pacific. As the 2012 Chair of APEC, Russia announced that the theme for next year, “Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper” would focus on the following four priorities: expanding trade and investment liberalization and expanding regional economic integration; strengthening food security; establishing reliable supply chains; and fostering innovative growth.
Russia's Ministry for Economic Development reported on December 9, 2011 that Liotech, a joint venture between China's Thunder Sky and Rusnano, has opened the world's largest lithium-ion battery factory. The Russian plant will produce batteries for all kinds of uses including ultra high capacity for electric vehicles.