Translated material
Division of labor
The Ministry of Economic Development defended part of the powers from the Ministry of Industry and Trade
Yesterday the status of two federal departments became known. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed regulations on the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Thus, one of the main intrigues in the structure of the new government was resolved. As is known, the functions of regulating trade were transferred from the Ministry of Economic Development to the Ministry of Industry, from which, in turn, energy was spun off into an independent ministry. Despite the fact that the very word “trade” in the name went to Viktor Khristenko’s department, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, regulation of this area was distributed between two departments.Domestic trade came completely under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but the regulation of foreign trade was divided. According to the regulations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will be given the functions of supporting the export of industrial products, ensuring access to markets for goods and services, exhibition and fair activities, conducting investigations prior to the introduction of special protective, anti-dumping or countervailing measures for the import of goods, as well as applying non-tariff regulation measures. By the way, investigations prior to the introduction of measures regarding agricultural and fishery products were not assigned to any of the departments. Apparently, this function will be transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture.
It is the Ministry of Industry and Trade that will bring to fruition the long-suffering law “On State Regulation of Trade Activities,” which the Ministry of Economic Development has been developing for two years, but has not been able to bring to consensus the opposing points of view of numerous interested parties.
At the same time, the negotiations on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, which for many years have been handled by the department of multilateral negotiations under the leadership of Maxim Medvedkov, remains with the economic department. As well as the functions of customs and tariff regulation.
In addition, even before the provisions appeared, it was known that trade missions abroad would continue to be supervised by the Ministry of Economic Development. At the end of last year, functions for managing Russian property abroad were transferred from the presidential administration to the Ministry of Economic Development. Apparently, it was decided that it was illogical to separate control over the buildings and the employees working in them.
In addition to part of the powers, 102, as stated in the document, “units from the central apparatus” will be transferred from the Ministry of Economic Development to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, the staffing level of the economic department turned out to be larger as a result. The maximum staffing level of the Ministry of Economic Development should be reduced to 1,789 people from 1,859 at the moment. The maximum number of employees of the central apparatus of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is set at 1075 people. At the same time, the Ministry of Economic Development will have 23 departments, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade - 22. Also, Minister Elvira Nabiullina will have more deputies. She will have seven deputies, and Viktor Khristenko will have six.
However, the final distribution of powers will become known later. By August 1, the two departments must submit joint proposals to the White House on the transfer of functions. A heated discussion is currently ongoing between the ministries. The Ministry of Economic Development believes that it is inappropriate to transfer customs tariff regulation measures to a line ministry, which is the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and in the domain of Viktor Khristenko they believe that it is inappropriate to separate industrial and customs tariff policies.