During the discussion on European Union-Russia trade relations at a meeting of the European Union foreign trade ministers in Brussels, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that in addition to the positive steps that have been taken, Estonia is expecting Russia to fulfil the principles of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
According to Foreign Minister Paet, Estonia is affected the most by the ban on live animal imports from the European Union into Russia. “One notices that Russia is trying to restrict the import of those goods whose import tariffs were significantly lowered when Russia joined the WTO,” he added.
Paet said that high import duties on used cars and customs rates that are higher than the agreed amount for some paper goods are not in accordance with the obligations that Russia accepted. “The European Union is working towards solutions and we hope that Russia will abolish trade restrictions that are against WTO regulations,” he said.
Estonia would also like to discuss the fulfilment of WTO regulations at the European Union-Russia summit in December. “A common understanding of WTO requirements and their fulfilment is essential to both sides, and problems in trade relations between the European Union and Russia must be resolved,” emphasised the Estonian foreign minister.
Another trade-related matter on the agenda of the European Union-Russia summit is the current status of negotiations on the trade and investments chapter of the EU-Russia framework agreement. “The EU would like for the framework agreement to be as comprehensive and detailed as possible, and in moving forward we expect both the trade and investment sectors to be fully represented,” Paet stated.
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