You're reading: Margelov: Transition to WTO norms will take Russia five to seven years

Moscow - Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Russian Federation Council committee on international affairs, believes the industries that will have stood the test of the world market due to Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization will be determined only in seven years. 

The protocol on Russia’s accession to the WTO has taken effect, marking the end of the work that has taken 18 years, Margelov told Interfax on Wednesday.

“At the same time, the debate on the consequences of this step still continues. Active opponents allege that accession to the WTO will negatively impact the domestic economy because the state will lose some of the leverage on export and import, and opponents believe openness and competition will, on the contrary, cause our producers to produce competitive products,” Margelov said.

In addition, membership in the WTO will help Russia more actively defend its businesses on the world market and fight direct discrimination against Russian products, the senator said. “Protection of economic interests is also protection of national interests. According to predictions, some industries may be hurt by the changes in duties, etc. Among these industries are machine-building, food industry, and consumer industry,” Margelov said.

However, Margelov said these industries are not developing well even without accession to the WTO and Russia still has some time to carry out technological modernization in them. “This means that transition to the WTO norms will take us five to seven years, and in that time it will become clear which industries have stood the test of the world market and which haven’t,” Margelov said.