Russia ratifies WTO accession protocol

President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill ratifying the protocol on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on July 21, thus completing the accession process, which lasted nearly 18 years, RBC reported.

After the ratification, Russia has become a WTO member and assumed all obligations set forth in multilateral trade agreements. The WTO protocol has become part of the country's legal system and will take precedence in case of conflict between its provisions and those in the Russian legislation.

The key goal of WTO is to reduce international trade barriers and abolish customs duties and import quotas. At present, 80% of the world's countries accounting for 97% of the global trade are WTO members.