The insufficient qualifications of Russian bureaucrats and the political situation are preventing the adaptation of the Russian economy to the conditions of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). "Patriotic" political rhetoric declares the WTO to be evil, and this thesis is largely the basis for the work of domestic industry lobbyists who ask the government for "protection from the WTO." At the same time, WTO instruments that allow for the protection of industries are almost never used due to a lack of information and corresponding domestic regulation.

According to the Accounts Chamber, Russia has not done everything it could and was obliged to do in the six months since joining the WTO. No regulations have been adopted to establish a permanent mission of Russia to the WTO, and funding for the permanent mission is not included in the budgets for 2013, 2014, and 2015. It is unclear how the legal protection of Russian interests in the body for resolving trade disputes will be financed. Regional authorities complain about the lack of regulations, methodological recommendations, and coordination with federal authorities on working in the WTO. However, the auditors note that federal authorities are doing significant work to adapt the economy to WTO conditions, but they are not doing everything within the established deadlines. Russia could provide more support for its exports and agriculture.

Sberbank President German Gref loudly stated at the Gaidar Forum in January that Russian ministers have not really read the WTO documents and do not know how to play by the rules of the organization. In a recent interview with Vedomosti, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said that he is already tired of questions about “whether Russia will fulfill its obligations to the WTO and what will happen if it does not.”

Lami, however, admits that this question is also asked in other countries that have just joined the WTO. Maxim Medvedkov, Director of the Trade Negotiations Department of the Ministry of Economic Development, also says that the problems are expected: in all countries that joined the organization, businesses initially tried to blame their problems on the WTO. In Russia, there are indeed some problems with the deadlines for adopting regulations, but they are being adopted, and the instruments, including those for regulating imports, already exist. Adaptation programs, personnel training, information events in the regions are being held, and anyone who wants to can find out everything. There is no permanent mission yet, but a working group is sitting in Geneva, which represents Russia's interests in the WTO.

The problem is, obviously, that not everyone wants to know how the WTO system works. The well-known Russian habit of compensating for the imperfection of laws by not implementing them is also evident here: it seems that it is easier to ask the government to protect a dying domestic producer than to spend a long time tediously learning the new rules and preparing for the tedious defense of one's interests in official trade disputes. The story of the introduction of the recycling fee or official statements by top officials that agriculture is more important than WTO obligations show that joining the WTO has so far changed little in the habits and minds of Russian officials. For them, momentary political PR with shifting their problems to external factors is more familiar and easier than studying 47,000 pages of WTO rules.

From the editor: Russia is slowing down within the WTO