Skip to main content

Russia looks set to be awarded World Trade Organisation membership

Russia will shortly become part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This is a key development for the construction equipment market as all member states of the WTO will benefit economically by having favoured-nation trade status with Russia. The exception to this however will be the US, which is currently prevented from granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Russia until Congress repeals the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. This 1974 amendment was originally put in place in response to the Soviet Union p
June 18, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Russia will shortly become part of the 4048 World Trade Organisation (WTO). This is a key development for the construction equipment market as all member states of the WTO will benefit economically by having favoured-nation trade status with Russia.

The exception to this however will be the US, which is currently prevented from granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Russia until Congress repeals the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. This 1974 amendment was originally put in place in response to the Soviet Union preventing citizens from emigrating. But since 1994, Russia has become in compliance with the Jackson-Vanik freedom-of-emigration criteria.

As a result, this outdated piece of legislation is to change shortly and like other WTO member states, the US will also be able to trade under the same favoured-nation status. This move is set to happen once Congress votes to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman has reinforced need for US infrastructure investment
    July 15, 2014
    Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman has outlined the risks to US competitiveness if the US Government proves unable to agree on both short and long term infrastructure funding issues. "American companies implement just-in-time inventory and on-demand supply chains. We produce vehicles and machines with greater fuel efficiency and lower carbon emissions. We lead the world in innovation, inventing better products and better processes," Oberhelman wrote in an article headlined "Congress must move on t
  • Latin America road safety plan proposed
    June 14, 2019
    A new report suggests key strategies to cut road deaths and injuries in Latin America. The report was commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies and shows that more than 25,000 Latin American lives could be saved and over 170,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030 if United Nations (UN) vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key countries in the region—Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil. The report was prepared by the UK-based Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The aim of the study was to estimat
  • Nigeria’s Eko Atlantic project: a city on the sea
    September 27, 2013
    Imagine a megapolis rising, Atlantis-like, from the sea. An urban development similar in size to New York’s Manhattan that boasts thriving business and residential districts to help transform not just a city but an entire country. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction. But the Eko Atlantic project in Lagos, Nigeria, is real and has become one of the most dazzling and most discussed construction developments in the entire world. One hundred years ago, the area of land on which the new city will be bu
  • New technical requirements for off-road machines
    January 1, 2025
    New technical requirements are agreed for off-road machines in Europe.