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| US Confirm Deal For Russia's WTO Entry  The U.S.-Russia Business Council (USRBC) hailed as a milestone in U.S.-Russia commercial relations the conclusion today of an agreement in principle on Russia's bilateral commitments for WTO accession. The emphasis in negotiations will now shift to Working Party discussions in Geneva, where multilateral-based commitments, including Russia's compliance with the intellectual property provisions of the Agreement on TRIPs, must be resolved.USRBC serves as the Secretariat for the newly-formed Coalition for U.S.- Russia Trade, a fast-growing grouping of trade associations and companies strongly supportive of Russia's entry into the WTO. The Coalition will be the driving force for the business community's effort to educate Members of the U.S. Congress and their staff on the thriving bilateral U.S.-Russia economic relationship and the opportunities for U.S. business opened up by Russia's WTO entry. At the appropriate time, the Coalition will urge Congress to provide Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia which is necessary for U.S. companies, farmers and workers to enjoy the benefits of Russia WTO agreement and compete on a level playing field with other foreign competitors. The Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade is a broad-based group of U.S. companies and trade associations across every major sector of the U.S. economy. It supports stronger U.S.-Russian economic ties and, specifically, Russia's integration into the rules-based system of the WTO on strong, commercially meaningful terms. Members of the Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade include U.S.-Russia Business Council, Business Roundtable, Coalition of Service Industries, Emergency Committee for American Trade, National Association of Manufacturers, National Foreign Trade Council, American Chamber of Commerce in Russia and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Corporations on the Coalition's Steering Committee include American International Group, Inc.; The Boeing Company; Cargill, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Chevron Corporation; The Dow Chemical Company; Eli Lilly and Company; Ford Motor Company; General Electric; Intel Corporation, and Procter & Gamble. The Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade, an organization of U.S. companies and trade associations committed to Russia's entry in the World Trade Organization, commended both the U.S. and Russian governments for reaching an agreement in principle on Russia's bilateral commitments for WTO accession. Based on publicly available information, this appears to be a strong, commercially meaningful agreement. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |