US hopes to wrap up Russia WTO deal by Oct end

Washington, Oct 6: The United States expects to formalize a bilateral agreement later this month that would move Russia a giant step closer to its long-awaited entry into the World Trade Organization, a top US trade official said today.

''We hope that we will be done with the bilateral part of negotiations by the end of October,'' Richard Crowder, chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the US Trade Representative, told a poultry industry meeting.

To join the WTO, Russia must negotiate a bilateral agreement with each member of the organization to address specific trade issues. It then must conclude a multilateral deal.

A final deal with the United States would be a boon for Russia, which hopes to end its 13-year wait on entering the global trading club.

Talks between Moscow and Washington have proceeded slowly as the two nations hammer out sensitive issues, with agriculture a key sticking point.

Interfax news agency reported this week that the country's agriculture minister threatened to suspend preferences for U.S.

meat imports, the latest in a series of official comments linking the bustling poultry trade and WTO accession talks.

The U.S. poultry industry would suffer a huge blow from any hiccup in trade with Russia, its biggest export customer. US poultry exports to Russia were worth about 184 million dollars in the first six months of this year.

''We expect Russia to fully honor its agreements with the US This will provide the confidence necessary to conclude further agreements,'' USTR spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said this week in an email.

Crowder said the United States is now awaiting responses from Russian food experts regarding US food safety conditions.

Russia has expressed worry about trichina, a parasite that strikes pigs, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in US meat. Beef exports to Russia have been suspended since 2003, but pork exports are growing.

''We are now awaiting the results of the trichina and BSE teams,'' Crowder said.

Poultry industry officials, meanwhile, said they're ready to meet any health or safety concerns.

Reuters