WTO Accession To Benefit Foreign Drugmakers

BMI View: Russia looks set to receive the green light for WTO membership during a conference in Geneva in mid-December, completing a long and drawn-out accession process that has lasted 18 years and suffered numerous setbacks. Accession has the potential to benefit domestic and multinational firms operating in Russia, but BMI believes that in the short-term WTO entry will predominantly favour foreign drug makers , who will see WTO membership as a defence against further protectionist and import substitution measures, with membership guaranteeing much-needed improvements in Russia's still weak intellectual property regime. Domestic players, meanwhile, will be on the guard, as increased competition from foreign drugmakers impact their market share. The local industry's lack of modernisation exemplified by their failure to adopt the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), will limit the ability of these firms to target export markets, which WTO membership should encourage.

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