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The 1st Trade Policy Review of the Russian Federation September 28 & 30, 2016
Statement by the Republic of Korea
1. Opening Remarks
Thank you, Madam Chair.
On behalf of the Republic of Korea, I would like to join the previous speakers in extending our warmest welcome to the delegation of Russia led by Director Maxim Medvedkov for their first trade policy review since its accession to the WTO in 2012. We would also like to thank Ambassador Vangelis VITALIS for his insightful comments as a discussant as well as the Secretariat for its comprehensive and informative report.
2. Korea’s Comment on the Trade Policies of Russia
Madam Chair,
Korea highly appreciates Russia’s hard work and significant achievements in turning into a market-oriented economy during the last two decades and half. Since its accession to the WTO, Russia has continued liberalizing its market and reforming its trade regime to meet the WTO commitments. In this regard, Korea welcomes Russia’s acceptance of the TFA this spring and its recent decision to initiate negotiations for its accession to the GPA.
However, Korea also notes that for the last couple of years, the Russian economy was hit by various factors, political and economic, and internal and external, which inevitably have had a negative impact on its trade with
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other countries, and to some degree, on its efforts for structural reforms.
Despite these difficulties, Korea hopes that Russia will continue working toward for deeper integration into the multilateral trading system.
3. Bilateral Economic Relationship
Turning to the bilateral side, Korea and Russia share many economic interests, in particular, regarding the development of Russia's Far Eastern region.
Around 40 % of Russia’s bilateral trade involves this region, in which Korea was the largest export destination in 2014. We would like to highlight that early this month President Park Geun-hye reaffirmed Korea’s willingness to contribute to Russia’s efforts for the development of this region when she participated in the 2nd Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
4. Korea’s Concern on the Trade Policies of Russia
Madam Chair,
I very much appreciate Russia’s response to Korea's advanced written questions and requests. In this regard, please allow me to take this opportunity to emphasize our main concerns about some of its trade measures and encourage Russia to address them.
First, many Korean companies face difficulties when they enter the Russian market due to customs administration and procedures. The difficulties include the arbitrary classification and application of HS codes to electronic goods, notably smartwatches, as well as burdensome document requirements. As Russia accepted the TFA in April, Korea looks
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forward to seeing greater improvements in its customs administration and procedures in the near future.
We also hope to see more transparency in SPS measures, especially when relevant laws are amended or revised, so that Korean companies do not have difficulties in finding required documents.
Second, as many of the previous speakers pointed out today, Korea is also concerned about import substitution measures in Russia's government procurement system. Many Korean companies experience difficulties with government procurement, especially regarding construction equipment, automobiles and medical products. In this context, Korea welcomes Russia’s decision to initiate negotiations for the GPA and hopes for an early conclusion of the negotiations.
5. Closing Remarks
In conclusion, Madam Chair, I would like to once more express my deep appreciation to the Russian delegation for their hard work in preparing for today’s meeting. We wish them great success of their first TPR.
Thank you.
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