Offshore Onshore Mag

Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss, head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs and German Gref, the Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade, have signed an agreement on market access for goods and services between Switzerland and the Russian Federation.

The agreement, signed on the fringes of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, concludes the bilateral negotiations between the two countries preparatory to Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The agreement will enable the reduction of customs duties on certain goods following a transitional period, and will also improve access to the Russian market for Swiss companies.

The main types of goods concerned include chemical products, textiles, machinery and watches. In addition, certain non-tariff measures affecting watch products and the export of live cattle and beef products will be liberalised. Lastly, Russia will lift customs duties on information technology products.

Furthermore, upon its accession to the WTO, or following a transitional period, Russia will grant a market access guarantee for the insurance and banking sectors and certain logistical services. The cross-border provision of reinsurance services will also be liberalised.

In addition, Russia guarantees full non-discriminatory market access for all engineering services as well as for brokerage services and trade in commodities.

However, Russia will not in principle authorise foreign companies to provide services through their subsidiaries. This restriction applies in particular to the financial sector, all transport services, hotels and travel agencies.

Moreover, a foreign company can only establish itself in the Russian market if it creates an independent company under Russian law.

The bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the Russian Federation forms part of the negotiations that the latter must undertake with its trade partners in order to accede to the WTO.

Switzerland is one of the last countries still to negotiate its access to the Russian market. This agreement constitutes an important step towards the accession, in the near future, of the Russian Federation to the WTO.