MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Vladimir Salamatov, General Director of the World Trade Center Moscow and Chairman of the Committee on Economic Integration of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and CIS countries, commented on the WTO General Council’s decision to approve Kazakhstan’s membership in the organization. 

“No doubt, Kazakhstan’s accession to the WTO is a historic event, which is not only important for that country alone, but also favors the common interests within the Eurasian Economic Union. Three participants in the Eurasian integration process — Armenia, Kazakhstan and Russia — have become full-fledged members of that major international club. Therefore, we have an entire group of countries, which will be promoting common interests on the biggest international platform,” thinks Vladimir Salamatov, Chairman of the Committee on Economic Integration of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and CIS countries. 

“The benefits to be derived from Kazakhstan’s WTO membership include, first of all, getting a set of opportunities to promote national interests, from talks within the organization to turning to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. Thus, Russia actively exercises its right in the WTO’s DSB, with four claims filed by it, and it being a third party in 22 more cases.”

In Vladimir Salamatov’s opinion, one of the risks inherent in the membership is a change in customs duties on more than 1,000 items imported in Kazakhstan. They will be lower than their current rates existing within the Eurasian Economic Union. “When Russia was joining the WTO, Kazakhstan had made a huge step in the talks, and some agreements had been reached, which could not have been called into question, and therefore had been accepted. They will have to be additionally administrated, but I’m seeing a risk in the accurate compliance with that provision.”

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