PhRMA welcomes Russia's progress toward WTO accession, but has reservations on IP

The Working Party on Russia’s Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva said last week that an agreement on Russian accession has been reached: Membership for the largest nation outside the 153-member WTO will now be put to a vote at a December 15-17 meeting of trade ministers in Geneva.

Russia's entry will be the biggest step in global trade liberalization since China joined a decade ago, and will boost the country's $1.5 trillion economy, according to the World Bank.

“Russia's membership in the WTO will lower tariffs, improve international access to Russia's services markets, hold the Russian government accountable to a system of rules governing trade behavior, and provide the means to enforce those rules,” US President Barack Obama said of the news, quoted by Bloomberg.