Search Results for: Russia

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE PRESIDENT of American pharmaceutical industry association PhRMA has welcomed the imminent approval of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in December, as strengthening intellectual property protection for medicine manufacturers selling in Russia. John Castellani noted that under Moscow’s commitments to join the WTO – which is expected to be sanctioned by a December 15-17 ministerial meeting at Geneva – there will be six years’ protection of proprietary data.…

BY EUGENE VOROTNIKOV

RUSSIA is planning to invest more than Russian Roubles RUB470 billion (USD14 billion) in reforming the country’s air traffic management system, bringing it into the line with European Union (EU) standards, according to November 25 statements made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a transport policy meeting in the city of Horki.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ACCESSION of Russia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been sealed in Geneva, and this should help European utilities trade and invest in Russia. While the existing gas supply agreements between Russia and European Union (EU) member states will largely remain unchanged, crucially under the agreement, "price control measures [including for energy] would not be used for purposes of protecting domestic products, or services provided," said a WTO note.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE RUSSIAN government has agreed to scrap trade rules insisting that foreign auto manufacturers must make 350,000 vehicles annually in Russia to secure duty reductions on imported component inputs. Moscow made the concession to secure European Union (EU) backing for its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) which was formally approved yesterday (Thursday) at a special WTO working party.…

BY MARK GODFREY

THERE is no end to the number of ambitious companies eyeing a slice of the estimated USD10 billion-a-year demand for nuclear power construction and maintenance in China. And in a country known for its favouritism towards local firms in public procurement contracts, one would assume that mainland Chinese companies would get the maximum share of the spoils.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS

Will Croatia’s ascension to the EU hamper the country’s tobacco industry?

Croatia’s strong tobacco sector stands to benefit from selling into the European Union once the country joins the EU. However it could lose trade in neighbouring states because of duty changes.…

BY LENA SMIRNOVA

AMERICAN nuclear energy giant Westinghouse has told World Nuclear News that it is studying Ukraine’s reforms to its nuclear energy market regulations, to see if they become reliable enough for them to bid for future reactor contracts. "Any decision on a programme of new nuclear build is the responsibility of the Ukrainian government," said Adrian Bull, media relations manager for Europe.…

BY PETER DA COSTA

European retailer organisation EuroCommerce has told just-style Russia’s looming membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) should help EU clothing retail brands establish themselves in this key emerging market. Russia’s weekend deal with Georgia should secure Moscow’s accession to the trade body at the WTO ministerial conference in Geneva December 15-17, if fresh Ukraine concerns over energy can be dealt with.…

BY ALAN OSBORN and LENA SMIRNOVA

RUSSIAN steel makers have contested claims that their country’s planned entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) next year could precipitate a steep rise in competitively-priced Russian steel exports to the European Union (EU).

This is a key concern if EU producers given that these shipments are currently protected by an EU quota of 3.2 million metric tons which will lapse on accession.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) anti-fraud Commissioner has blamed member states for the EU accounts again being declared faulty by the Court of Auditors, the union’s financial watchdog. The court concluded in its assessment of the 2010 accounts that while they "present fairly the financial position of the European Union…the payments underlying these accounts were still affected by material error, with an estimated error rate of 3.7% for the EUR122.2 billion of EU spending."…